Safety fears over city’s social care
Improvements to health and social care services in one of the region’s most affluent cities remain “highly challenging” after safety concerns were raised over the care of frail elderly people.
York was one of 20 areas of the country where the Care Quality Commission carried out a review of services in 2017-18.
IMPROVEMENTS TO health and social care services in one of the region’s most affluent cities remain “highly challenging” after safety concerns were raised over the care of frail elderly people.
York was one of 20 areas of the country where the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out a review of services during 2017-18.
CQC inspectors visited the city last autumn and found that staff shortages and a lack of social care beds meant elderly people, including those with dementia, were finding themselves stuck on hospital wards.
NHS and social care bosses were required to send an action plan to the Department of Health on how 13 recommendations from the CQC would be implemented.
The included improvements to the way different organisations work together and the implementation of seven-day working to make sure hospital patients could be sent home earlier.
A report to the city’s Health, Housing and Adult Social Care Policy Scrutiny Committee said: “Since the publication of the CQC report in December 2017, partner agencies in York have been working together to implement the thirteen recommendations.”
The report said a “high proportion” of the recommendations had been put in place.
But it added: “Many of the performance measures associated with the instigation of the review remain highly challenging.”
The CQC report raised concerns that some patients were being discharged from hospital without medication because a shortfall in staffing at weekends.
Patients were delayed in A&E because of a shortage of beds on hospital wards and there was not enough support for people who needed to be looked after in their own homes.
The CQC report said: “Frontline staff identified there was a lack of availability of beds within a community setting for people living with dementia which led to them being admitted to hospital when there was not an identified need for acute care.
“A shortage of suitably skilled care staff was impacting on people’s discharge from hospital when they required support in their own homes.”
Pippa Corner, Assistant Director of Joint Commissioning at City of York Council, said improvements to seven-day services, hospital discharge procedures and support in people’s homes were being made.
She said: “Since the review was announced, and like other local authorities across the country, we continue to experience pressure on services.
“So we’re pleased to report that recent actions are enabling more people to access our reablement services which means they are more likely to be able to stay in their own home.
“Our multi-agency partnership continues to deliver improvements.”
Like other council areas, we continue to see pressure on services. Pippa Corner, Assistant Director of Joint Commissioning at City of York Council.