The Care Inspectorate has published its report on services for older people in Dumfries and Galloway, covering adult health and social care services.
The Care Inspectorate assessed performance against 9 quality indicators. 2 were considered good and 7 were assessed as adequate*:
1. Key performance outcomes – adequate
2. Getting help at the right time – adequate
3. Impact on staff – good
4. Impact on the community – good
5. Delivery of key processes – adequate
6. Policy development and plans to support improvement in service – adequate
7. Management and support of staff – adequate
8. Partnership working – adequate
9. Leadership and direction – adequate
*
Good = important strengths with some areas for improvement
Adequate = strengths just outweigh weaknesses
Councillor Jim Dempster, chairman of the Social Work Services committee, said: “Protecting our most vulnerable people is a priority for our Council. This report is in line with our self-assessment that we carried out pre-inspection. The Integrated Joint Board knows what we have to do and we have a plan in place. Engaging with our communities and workforce are key to improvement. Our commitment is demonstrated by our increase in social work services spend over the last 10 years. However, we face considerable challenges in terms of demographics, recruitment and funding. Cuts imposed by the Scottish Government make it increasingly difficult for us to meet the needs of people in our region. With a higher percentage of older people than other areas of Scotland, our challenges are only going to increase. Unless the Scottish Government rethinks its approach to funding local government, we face a demographic time bomb. We must continually lobby our case so that we can protect our most vulnerable people and meet their needs.”
Julie White, chief officer for the Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “I’m confident that with the new joint arrangements now fully in place and the leadership of the Integrated Joint Board we’ll make progress in addressing the recommendations of the inspection report.”
Dumfries and Galloway faces the challenge of supporting an ageing population with an increasing needs profile from both a health and social care perspective.
The total population of Dumfries and Galloway is expected to decline to 141,617 by 2037 (decrease of 6.1%) while the population of Scotland is expected to increase by approximately 0.5m (increase of 8.8%).
The percentage of people aged 65 years of over is forecast to increase 40% by 2037, while the number of children and working-age adults is projected to fall.
People aged 65 years or over make up 27% of Dumfries and Galloway’s population, compared with a 21% average for Scotland.
The ageing population profile of Dumfries and Galloway brings significant challenges. Health and social care employment remains static while significant increases in the population of people aged over 75 bring greater demands for services throughout the area. Recruiting staff to deliver care services in some areas is a challenge.
The over-65s population in Dumfries and Galloway is likely to grow by 19% by 2022 and 40% by 2037 (12% for those aged 65-74 and 75% for those aged 75 and over). The number of residents aged 90 years or over is projected to increase from 1,314 in 2012 to 4,771 in 2037 (2012 based figures from the National Records of Scotland).
Health and Social Care Integration will present the opportunity to work more collaboratively, planning and delivering services for people in their homes and home communities utilising their own and their communities’ resources.
Despite the Scottish Government reducing the amount of funding available, Dumfries and Galloway Council has managed to increase the amount of money it has spent on social work services by £11.9m (17.8%) between 2006/07 and 2016/17.
Background Info:
The Care Inspectorate is the official body responsible for inspecting standards of care in Scotland, regulating and inspecting care services to make sure they meet the right standards.
The Care Inspectorate also carries out joint inspections with other bodies to check how well different organisations in local areas are working to support adults and children. This helps to ensure that social work meets high standards.
Healthcare Improvement Scotland works with healthcare providers across Scotland to drive improvement and help them deliver high quality, evidence-based, safe, effective and person-centred care. It also inspects services to assure the public about the quality and safety of that care.
From January to March 2016, the Care Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland carried out a joint inspection of health and social work services for older people in Dumfries and Galloway.
The purpose of the joint inspection was to assess whether the health and social work services improved outcomes for older people and their carers, examining if health and social care services worked together to effectively:
• Make sure that people receive the right care at the right time in the right setting
• Deliver high quality services to older people
• Support older people to be independent, safe, and as healthy as possible and to have a good sense of wellbeing
