Council response to 'requires improvement' CQC rating
An inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Wirral’s Adult Social Care services as "Requires Improvement: Evidence shows some shortfall".
The report, published today, follows the CQC’s inspection in September 2024 and covers challenges which need to be overcome in order to make positive system-wide changes. It also discusses the inspectors’ positive findings including the authority’s person-centred approach and the co-production of services with residents.
Cllr Paul Stuart, Leader of Wirral Council, said:
The result of this inspection is certainly not what our dedicated staff in adult social care had hoped for or anticipated.
Adult social care services are crucial in supporting some of our most vulnerable residents, and ensuring they receive the highest standards of care is our top priority.
Thanks to the constructive feedback from the CQC’s report, we clearly understand the necessary improvements. With our improvement plan already in place, I am confident the service will deliver the improvements swiftly and efficiently.
Cllr Julie McManus, Chair of Wirral’s Adult Social Care and Public Health committee, said:
While this assessment is disappointing the CQC's report acknowledges that we have an improvement plan in place, and we are making progress in delivering on this for the people of Wirral.
In the time that I have been Chair of the Adult Social Care and Public Health Committee, I have seen real improvement and progress, in what is a very challenging and demanding environment. The report is on the CQC website, and you will see that we were very close to being assessed as ‘Good’.
We will use this CQC inspection to help inform our future development. It’s incredibly important to us that we deliver the best services we possibly can for the people of Wirral, and we will continue our efforts to drive forward improvements across the service so that our community's most vulnerable people carry on receiving the care and help they need.
I would also like to thank all our staff who provide Wirral's social care who I see day in and day out working extremely hard to ensure they do the very best for our residents.
You can read the CQC’s findings here: Metropolitan Borough of Wirral: local authority assessment - Care Quality Commission.
