Formed just three years ago the innovative partnership between the North East Lincolnshire Council and the North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus (CTP) has again been awarded an overall grading of performing well (grade three) for adult social care services.
The partnership is unique within Yorkshire and the Humber and one of just a handful of such arrangements in England. With the expectation of a more joined up approach to health and social care combined with tighter public spending North East Lincolnshire is at the forefront of integrating services previously delivered separately by the two organisations.
The result of performing well confirms that the partnership in North East Lincolnshire is progressing well and has created a strong foundation for the future.
The grade of performing well has been awarded by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. It performs annual assessments on personal and health care services. It uses a grading scale from one to a possible top mark of 4, to evaluate how well the council, in partnership with North East Lincolnshire CTP, is serving adults who access social care services.
The CQC produces an annual report on the personal care services in each council area across the country, which highlights good performance and areas for improvement. There are seven criteria put under scrutiny which include health and emotional well-being, quality of life, making positive contributions, increasing choice and control, eliminating discrimination or harassment, improving economic well-being and maintaining personal dignity and respect.
It is through the innovative and unique partnership between North East Lincolnshire Council and the CTP that sees local services consistently delivering above the minimum requirements for local people. The CTP and council have done particularly well by maintaining three grades of performing excellently in improving health and emotional well-being, making a positive contribution and improving economic well-being.
Councillor Stephen Hocknell, portfolio holder for healthier communities and adult social care, said: "This is a great result. It takes a lot of continued hard work to maintain such a high standard. Thank you to both staff and managers within the CTP for doing such a brilliant job. I am very proud that we have again been recognised as performing excellently in three out of the seven performance categories."
Andrew Milner, executive director community services, said: "North East Lincolnshire Council continues to be committed to helping all vulnerable and older people to live independently and make decisions about their own care and I am delighted that this has again been recognised in the inspection report.
“The report shows that the partnership between the CTP and North East Lincolnshire Council is working well and remains strong. There are a few areas where improvements can still be made and I am keen to work with the CTP to see that they happen as quickly as possible.”
Peter Melton, interim chief executive of North East Lincolnshire CTP, said: “The CTP is pleased with the results of the Care Quality Commission assessment of adult social care services within North East Lincolnshire. This is a very rewarding result for our staff and a positive reflection of the unique partnership arrangements between the local authority and the CTP."