High praise for Council's Adult Social Care

A national, independent peer review has fully endorsed Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Adult Social Care, its services and employees.

The review found that staff working in adult services were positive, passionate, engaged and dedicated - supported by "a strong and visible leadership".

The focus of putting people at the centre of decisions and council policies through innovations such as the Borough's Making it Real Board was highlighted. Collaboration with the Council's partners was praised as being forward-thinking.

The review found that high numbers of people reported feeling safe and listened to.

Through the Council's Powering our Futures Programme, the peer review also found that "there is a strong and well understood strategic framework that underpins all the key areas of work across the Council."

The Council asked the Local Government Association (LGA) to undertake the review, which measures how prepared teams within adult social care are for a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection and how well the organisation is delivering adult social care services for its residents.

The review took place in July 2024.  It was carried out by senior local government leaders and adult social care specialists from across the country.  Before the three-day visit, case files were audited and residents were interviewed by the LGA Peer Review Team. Once on site, the team held focus groups and discussions - with around 150 people interviewed.

Councillor Pauline Beall, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care, said: "The purpose of this peer challenge was to help us assess current achievements, look for areas for development as well as ways to improve. It has certainly done that. We're so pleased with the feedback from the LGA team, who combined, have a social care experience amounting to over 200 years. But we're not complacent and we're ready to work on the feedback given and continue to improve our services ahead of a CQC inspection.

"A big thank to all the teams involved, who work so hard to deliver services for residents across the Borough. The report praised our workforce for their dedication, professionalism and empathy. We're certainly very proud of them and pleased that the Peer Challenge Team recognised this saying that they were a "credit to Stockton-on-Tees".

Councillor Bob Cook, Leader of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, said: "Thank you to all those who took part in the review - from residents and carers who shared their lived experiences to partners and providers.  We're delighted with this report which shows that alongside our partners we are proving strategic leadership in this area and our efforts across the board to put residents at the heart of what we do, as well as plan and prepare for the upcoming CQC inspection, have put us in good stead."

The review provided feedback on ways to further strengthen services including improving integrated working for those residents who need a higher level of support, future proofing and planning for a sustainable workforce and ensuring that when residents use services they do not have to repeatedly retell their story. This feedback includes areas of improvement already identified by the Council, reinforcing the work it is doing to address and further develop these areas.