Inspectors find promise in two departments

Dudley and Durham social services departments’ prospects for
improvement are promising, according to joint review inspections,
writes Amy Taylor.

Dudley’s joint review praised its innovative work with some
client groups including older people, giving them support to live
at home, and foster carers. It also said that Dudley had a stable
team of staff, with a strong track record of tackling areas of
concern.

Areas for improvement included the need for some services to be
modernised, such as day and residential care, and concerns were
raised that some children looked after by the authority and some on
the child protection register do not have an allocated social
worker.

In Durham, the review noted that the department has achieved
national recognition for the quality of its services, but said that
it now needs to work on providing them in partnership with other
organisations. In support of this, the review found that 82 per
cent of users and carers rated their satisfaction with services as
excellent or good.

It also found that most services have got better over the last
two years, but that some people are still having to wait too long
for an assessment and are not receiving services that help them to
be independent. In particular, it said that further service
developments are required in providing care for older people who
need intensive support in their own homes or alternatives to
traditional residential care.