Foreword
The production of this Annual Report remains an important part of the annual cycle of Adult Social Care. It provides an opportunity for reflection on the progress we have made and challenges we face in delivering Adult Social Care within the city.
Pete Fahy - Director of Adult Services and Housing
The year this report covers, 2023/2024, a year when the CQC assessment of Adult Social Care commenced. Although Coventry City Council has not been inspected, or notified of an impending inspection at the time of publishing this Annual Report the work required to be ‘inspection ready’ is now part of our everyday business.
In response to this new regulatory framework the format of the Annual Report has changed to be structured on the four themes of the CQC framework, Assessing Needs, Providing Support, Safety in the System and Leadership. In addition to this as part of the CQC inspection requirements a Self Assessment is also required, this contains more detail than the Annual Report and is produced as a separate document but for the purposes of CQC assessment the Annual Report and Self Assessment together provide the overview of how we deliver Adult Social Care in Coventry, its impact and where we have opportunities to improve.
In respect of our performance for 2023/24 we continue to see increases in the numbers of people approaching us for care and support and people with more complex needs requiring greater volumes of support. This inevitably places an increasing strain on our resources, both workforce and financial.
Although our promoting independence approach remains the bedrock of our service model and in 2023/24 we saw the commencement of newly developed integrated teams between health and social care to deliver a new model of hospital discharge support. We call this our Improving Lives programme.
Regardless of what lies ahead, due to the people I work with and the commitment they show I remain certain that we will rise to the challenges and continue to be immensely proud and privileged to be the Director of Adult Social Care for Coventry City Council.
Councillor Linda Bigham - Cabinet Member for Adult Services
It is my pleasure to introduce this year’s Adult Social Care Annual Report and to be able to say again how proud I am, as Cabinet Member for Adult Services, to reflect on the achievements, dedication and hard work of our workforce during the past 12 months.
Each year an Adult Social Care Report is produced, and this is the second year that I have had responsibility for the service - something I am very passionate about.
This report offers an important insight into the services provided by the Council with the support of our all partners. It explains this as clearly as we can and that’s why we try to make it available to as many people as possible.
It reflects on the experiences of those people using the services – and the difference, the care provided, makes for people. This is crucial for us because it is only through the feedback we get that we can strive to improve our services for everyone.
We also should not underestimate the increasing demands and challenges placed upon this service, including the limited funding available and the introduction of the Care Quality Commission Assurance Framework. The team have continued to provide high quality services, care and respite to the most vulnerable adults living in the city.
The pressures placed upon staff mean that it is even more important to recognise the hard work, dedication and willingness to go the extra mile we see reflected in the wide range of examples included in the report. The impact on people and the outcomes achieved by those who need our services is excellent to read about!
I also realise that many people who work in social care also have caring responsibilities outside of their job, which is why a day doesn’t go by when I don’t think of the massive contribution and sacrifice of all informal carers.
I continue to be in awe of the level of professionalism and care demonstrated within this report and the ongoing commitment to do the right thing for the people who require our services. I hope that as a Council we can build on this and work with the Government to help us to drive future improvements across all aspects of social care.
I hope you find the report is helpful and interesting, but please do get in touch if you would like any further information or to offer us any feedback on the Annual Report by emailing getinvolvedasc@coventry.gov.uk We would love to get your thoughts.