"Adequate" Adult Social Care in East Sussex

As a department of East Sussex County Council, the performance of Adult Social Care is tested annually across a range of areas, from its strategic management, to the care services that people receive.

Basing its inspection on data for March 2006/7, CSCI stated that Adult Social Care had "'¦comprehensive and coherent strategies, business and action plans'¦," backed up by "committed leadership."

CSCI also noted that Adult Social Care had carried out its policy decision to build a strong infrastructure during 2006/7 by securing extra funding, developing robust business processes and systems, and building relationships with key partners.

This decision to concentrate first on getting the basics right has meant that ESCC Adult Social Care has not yet delivered the increase in performance required to improve the lives of all vulnerable people in East Sussex.

Adult Social Care was rated 'good' against three of CSCI's main outcomes, and 'adequate' in the other four. The department's overall rating was therefore 'adequate.'

As Keith Hinkley, Director of Adult Social Care, stated: "I'd agree with CSCI that our performance is not yet up to scratch. This past year has been about laying strong foundations for the future.

"At the point of the CSCI inspection, we were one year into a three year programme to drive up standards.

"We'd taken a hard look at our services and introduced vital changes. Staff across the department responded to the challenge '“ in particular working to tough new targets. Now, thanks to their commitment and dedication, we are on track for significant improvements. "

Cllr Bill Bentley, Lead Member for Adult Social Care, explained: "Our services must be sustainable in the long-term. As many people know, East Sussex already has the highest percentage of people over 85 in England and Wales, and this number is rising fast. Twenty years from now, demand for our services will have grown dramatically.

"In light of this challenge, we've had to bring in important changes to the way we work. That's why we've spent this past year laying firm foundations, for the future development of our services. I'd like to thank all the people across East Sussex who have helped us in our planning, by sharing their views and ideas. Their input will help us to meet local needs as we continue to develop our services.

"I don't want to underestimate the scale of improvements needed - considerable work remains to be done, as CSCI point out. However, we are on target to radically turn around the performance of Adult Social Care over the next two years. In fact, we've already made significant progress since March, when this snapshot of our performance was taken. "