Social care satisfaction levels are on the decline

THE proportion of sick and vulnerable adults in Leicestershire who are very unhappy with the social care services they are receiving has more than doubled in a year.

In Leicestershire, 3.1% of adult social care users said they were extremely or very dissatisfied with the care or support services they received, according to the 2017/18 Adult Social Care Survey.

This is a big jump compared to 1.4% who were unhappy in 2016/17, and one of the highest proportions in England.

The proportion that said they were extremely or very satisfied dropped from 65.3% in 2016/17, to 58.3% in 2017/18.

Adult social care users in Leicester were happier with their care - 63.9% of users said they were extremely or very satisfied, although this was down from 65.6%, and the proportion that were very or extremely dissatisfied dropped from 2.5% to 1.4%.

In Leicestershire, 6.2% of social care users described their quality of life as very bad or so bad it could not be worse, up from 3.1% in 2016/17.

The proportion saying it was so good it could not be better or very good dropped from 28% to 20.5% in a year.

In Leicester, those giving their quality of life the worst ratings fell from 3.9% to 2.8%, while those giving it the best ratings dropped from 29% to 26%.

Vulnerable adults in Leicester are also among the most likely in England to say they feel socially isolated.

One in nine social care users (10.6%) said they had little social contact with people and feel socially isolated. This was up from 9.7% in 2016/17.

In Leicestershire, 8.3% of vulnerable adults described themselves as socially isolated, up from 5.9% in a year.

Social care users in Leicester were also more likely to give poor ratings for how they feel about everyday life.

In the area, 2.3% said they don’t always get timely and adequate food and they thought there was a risk to their health, while 2.7% in the area said they don’t feel clean and presentable, and 3.1% said they did not feel safe.

Vulnerable adults in Leicester are also among the most likely in England to say they feel extremely anxious and depressed, with one in nine social care users (10.7%) describing themselves as this.

Across England, 65% of adult social care users said they were extremely or very satisfied with the care and support services they receive - the highest proportion since the survey began in its current form.

However, there was a significant increase last year in the proportion of people who said they were extremely or very dissatisfied with their care or support, up from 1.7% to 2%, also the highest proportion on record.

Among care users, 30.7% said their quality of life was so good it couldn’t be better or very good, while 31.9% described it as good, both up slightly from 2016/17.

But an increasing proportion are rating their quality of life as poor - 6% said it was bad, up from 5.8%, while 3.4% said it was very bad or so bad it could not be worse, up from 3.3%, both the highest proportions since the survey began.

Overall, 92.3% of service users said the support they receive helps them to have a better quality of life.

The figures suggest a growing split between care users whose experience is good and those whose experience is poor.

While a bigger proportion of users is rating things like support with appearance, food and drink, help around the house, safety, and social contact highly, more are also giving the lowest ratings.

In 2017/18, 5.8% of respondents said they had little social contact with people and feel socially isolated, up from 5.7% in 2016/17 and 5.1% in 2014/15.

However, 46% said they had as much social contact as they wanted with people they like, up from 45.4% in 2016/17 and 44.8% in 2014/15.

More than half (56.5%) of services users that feel safe also reported having as much social contact as they wanted. This compares to 10.9% who don’t feel safe but who also feel they have as much social contact as they wanted.

Just 2.5% of service users that feel safe also reported having little social contact and feeling socially isolated. This compares with 45.8% that don’t feel safe and also feel socially isolated.

One in 12 social care users (8.6%) said they were extremely anxious or depressed, up from 8.4% in 2016/17, with the proportion saying they were moderately anxious or depressed also on the rise, up from 45.8% to 45.9%.

This national survey takes place every year and is conducted by Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs).

The survey seeks the opinions of service users aged 18 and over in receipt of long-term support services funded or managed by social services, and is designed to help the adult social care sector understand more about how services are affecting lives to enable choice and for informing service development.