Coventry Adult Social Care Annual Report 2024 to 2025 (Local Account) - Print version

What is the Local Account?

Every year Coventry City Council produces a report which describes what Adult Social Care service is doing to help improve the lives of vulnerable people and how well as a service it is performing along with areas where we are seeking to develop further. This report is usually referred to as the ‘Local Account’ but is also referred to as the ‘Annual Report’ for Adult Social Care.

We hope you find this account interesting and that it provides you with an insight into Adult Social Care in Coventry and the work that is being done to support our delivery of services

• Download a designed PDF version of the Annual Report [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/45903/coventry-adult-social-care-annual-report-2024-to-2025]
• Download a designed PDF version of the Self-Assessment [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/45904/coventry-adult-social-care-self-assessment-2024-to-2025]

Foreword

The production of this Annual Report remains an important part of the annual cycle of Adult Social Care. It provides an opportunity for reflection on the progress we have made and challenges we face in delivering Adult Social Care within the city. 

Pete Fahy - Director of Adult Services and Housing

The report covers the period from April 2024 to the end of March 2025. As with the previous year’s report the structure follows the four themes of the CQC assessment framework, Assessing Needs, Providing Support, Safety in the System and Leadership.

Alongside this annual report we are also producing a Self Assessment. This contains more detail than the Annual Report and is produced as a separate document but for the purposes of CQC assessment the Annual Report and Self-Assessment together provide the overview of how we deliver Adult Social Care in Coventry, its impact and where we have opportunities to improve.

We are really proud of the progress we have made in 2024/25 as reporting in this report and how we provide a responsive service to a high number of people that contact us for support.

We are particularly proud of the changes we have made to carer support in Coventry and how that has extended the range of support available. We are also very proud of our approach to safeguarding and how we deal responsively where concerns are raised.

Over 2024/25 the integrated teams between health and social care that were implemented through our Improving Lives programme, have developed and are making a difference to our success in supporting people to live at home following a hospital stay.

Regardless of progress made there is always much more to do, and I remain certain that we will rise to the challenges and remain immensely proud and privileged to be the Director of Adult Social Care for Coventry City Council. I hope you find this Annual Report informative and as always myself and my team are happy for any feedback

Councillor Linda Bigham - Cabinet Member for Adult Services

It’s with great pleasure and pride I am introducing the Adult Social Care Annual Report for the third consecutive year. It is a privilege as Cabinet Member for Adult Services to reflect on the achievements, dedication and hard work of our workforce during the past year.

Each year an Adult Social Care Report is produced, and this offers a vital insight into the services provided with the support of our partner organisations. We want to explain this as clearly as we can and that’s why we try to make it available to as many people as possible. In particular, it reflects on the experiences of those using the services – and the difference, the care provided, makes for people.

We should not underestimate the increasing demands and challenges placed upon this service, including the limited funding available. The team have continued to provide high quality services, care and respite to the most vulnerable adults living in the city and to those unpaid carers who carryout such a vital and important role in supporting and caring for loved ones.

Our staff in Adult Social care are showing real adaptability and innovation, embracing the developments in care technology and digital options to ensure we continue to support people to maintain their independence and to increase accessibility to our services.

I would also like to acknowledge that many people who work in social care also have caring responsibilities outside of their job. This often isn’t recognised but requires a huge sacrifice and resilience.

The level of care and empathy, the dedication and respect demonstrated never ceases to amaze me and the examples we see in this report highlight fantastically the outcomes and impact these attributes lead to. Staff are really making a difference on an individual level by focussing on each person and what is important to them!

We will very soon receive an assessment of our Adult Social Care Services, undertaken by the Care Quality Commission and the contents of this report gives me great reassurance that the work and impact reflected will be well received.

I hope you find the report is helpful and interesting, but please do get in touch if you would like any further information or to offer us any feedback on the Annual Report by emailing getinvolvedasc@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:getinvolvedasc@coventry.gov.uk]

Introduction to Adult Social Care

The delivery of Adult Social Care is the responsibility of the Local Authority which interacts with a range of other local authority functions to support people in our communities, including Housing, Public Health, Children’s Services or Culture and Leisure to name but a few. Our work is also closely connected to health organisations and the voluntary and third sector who work with many of the same people who come into contact with Adult Social Care.

Although Adult Social Care has a distinct identity, so much of what we do is achieved through working with others. Our success is increasingly intertwined with our health partners. New partnerships ‘Integrated Care Systems’ (ICS) are bringing together; Acute, Community Health Trusts, GPs, Primary Care services with Local Authorities and other care providers. These aim to bring organisations together to redesign, improve support and outcomes for residents.

Adult Social Care in Coventry is one of several health and care organisations across Coventry and Warwickshire, making up the Coventry and Warwickshire Health and Care Partnership. This Partnership is working to improve the health and wellbeing of our residents. In all our efforts to achieve this we share a common vision:

"We will do everything in our power to enable people across Coventry and Warwickshire to pursue happy, healthy lives and put people at the heart of everything we do".
In working to this vision, we believe that all our residents deserve to:

1. Lead a healthy, independent, and fulfilled life
2. Be part of a strong community
3. Experience effective and sustainable health and care services

As part of this Partnership, NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board [http://happyhealthylives.uk/integrated-care-board] is now responsible for commissioning health and care services on behalf of people in Coventry and Warwickshire (this replaces Clinical Commissioning Groups).

From an Adult Social Care perspective, we do not have a complex strategy but at every level, we intend to provide support to the residents of Coventry, in the least intrusive manner possible, based on the assets, resources and abilities available to them. Our focus is on the promotion of independence, and this continues to be the at the heart of the way we work and provide support. Progressing this overarching objective is delivered day in, day out through the many interactions between our staff and people with care and support needs and through a series of developments and future planning overseen by the Director of Adult Services aimed at constantly improving what we do. 

In 2023 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) [https://www.cqc.org.uk/guidance-regulation/local-authorities/assessment-framework] became responsible for assessing Local Authorities’ delivery of their Adult Social Care functions producing a framework to assess how well Local Authorities are performing against their duties under the Care Act 2014.

At the time of writing this report, we have not received our assessment. The assessment framework for local authorities comprises nine quality statements mapped across four overall themes. The 4 themes are;

• working with people
• providing support
• ensuring safety
• leadership

For each theme, CQC identify the: The ‘I’ statements and quality statements that they will assess:

• Quality statements are the commitments that local authorities must commit to. Expressed as ‘we statements’, they show what is needed to deliver high-quality, person-centred care I statements are what people expect. They are based on Think Local Act Personal’s ‘Making It Real’ framework.

As part of these arrangements Local Authorities are completing a ‘Self-Assessment’. This is detailed report identifying how we are delivering Adult Social Care services in Coventry, our strengths and areas for development. Our Annual Report this year mirrors the content of this assessment highlighting some of the work we are doing through examples of the support we provide.

Our Adult Social Care Team remain proud of the work that we do, this year we have been joined by Kirstin Clarke as Assistant Director after Sally Caren retired. Sadly during the year to come we will say goodbye to Jon Reading Head of Commissioning and Quality who is retiring. The delivery of an Adult Social Care service continues to be the combined efforts of all our staff day in and day out.

Our Coventry Adult Social Care 5 Year Plan and Adult Social Care Offer

Adult Social Care supports people aged 18 and over who have care and support needs as a result of a disability or an illness. Support is also provided to carers who spend time providing necessary care to someone else. We continue to work in accordance with our primary legislation, the Care Act (2014) and the required changes to practice and policy set out by the Act.

Adult Social Care is always evolving and each year sees different issues arise and new challenges which we both need to predict where possible and then respond to. We have captured key performance and activity within our Annual Report and Self-Assessment but have now also produced a ‘Five Year Plan’ (2025- 2030) in order to set out clearly what the main areas of focus for Adult Social Care will be until 2030.

We have previously produced an ‘Coventry Adult Social Care Offer [http://coventry.gov.uk/ascoffer]’ which is a clear statement explaining our objectives, aligned to the Council’s One Coventry Plan 2022-2030 [http://coventry.gov.uk/onecoventryplan] ambitions.  It has been developed as a way of setting out how we do things in Coventry including a description of what people can expect when they contact us, how they can participate in our work and useful links to information and advice. 

The delivery of Adult Social Care in Coventry focuses on approaches that promote well-being and independence to prevent, reduce or delay the need for long term support and to enable people to achieve their outcomes. In performance terms this means that we would expect to see a relatively smaller number of people in receipt of ongoing social care, and where ongoing social care is required that this is mainly provided in people’s own homes. We would also expect that the short-term services we have in place to enable people to be independent are successful in reducing demand for ongoing Adult Social Care.

How does Adult Social Care work in Coventry?

A referral comes to Adult Social Care by phone 024 7683 3003, by Professional/Carer referral on an online referral, or by an online self-assessment. 

The referral then goes to Adult Social Care Direct - Customer services will take any initial information regarding a referral, such as contact details, key information, and the reason for the referral. They may be able to provide signposting advice and information advice at this stage.

The referral can be signposted to the Initial Contact and Duty Teams. The initial contact team gather more information about new referrals and the duty team support any incoming queries through Adult Social Care, for people that are in receipt of support.

A person can then receive Short Term Support or Long Term Support. 

Short Term:

• Local Integrated Teams - Integrated teams with three geographical bases across the city working with older people and people with physical disabilities to develop their independence and daily living skills and develop a greater understanding of long term/ongoing care and support needs.
• Promoting Independence – Learning Disabilities - A multi-disciplinary team that works with adults with learning disabilities and autism to promote independence. The team provide support such as travel training, occupational therapy and support to use assistive technology.
• Community Discharge Team - Based at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, supporting people to be discharged. The team works across the 7 day week and with extended hours.
• Occupational Therapy and Equipment Services - Providing a range of advice and support about equipment, adaptations and solutions to make every day tasks easier for you, this includes telecare equipment such as personal trigger alarms, movement detectors or medication dispensers as required.

Long Term:

• Mental Health - Working with health colleagues at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust as part of a S75 Agreement to support adults with mental ill health. The supports the Crisis Care pathways and community based services.
• Older People’s Assessment and Case Management Team - Work with adults over 65, they will explore the provision of support such as home support, day opportunities, supported housing, respite, residential care.
• All Age Disabilities Team - Support adults turning 18 (or over). They will explore the provision of support such as home support, day opportunities, supported housing, respite, residential care.

Setting the scene - Adult Social Care in a changing landscape

The demand for Adult Social Care rises every year as people live longer and there are more people living longer with more complex needs.

Budget - Money matters:

The Council is a large organisation spending a net £262.3m on revenue activity during 2023 to 2024.

The gross Adult Social Care spend (minus citizens and other contributions) was £139.8m in 2023 to 2024 compared to 2022 to 2023 spend of £118.8m. The largest element of the increase relates to Spend on People:

• £106.1m spent on people
• £25.2m spent on community, assessment and overheads
• £7.3m internal cost for support services including finance, HR and Legal
• £0.8m spent on transport
• £0.4m spent on other

The ‘Spend on People’ referred to in the chart is £106.1m in 2023 to 2024 This increased from £91.5m in 2022 to 2023. ‘Spend on People’ is money spent directly on the provision of care.

• £38.5m spent on homecare
• £28.4m spent on residential
• £12.7m spent on nursing
• £11.5m spent on Direct Payments
• £7.6m spent on Housing with Care
• £3m spent on day opportunities
• £2.6m spent on supported living
• £1.4m spent on equipment and adaptions
• £0.4m spent on Individual Service Funds

How do we compare?

In recent years we know that Coventry demonstrates comparatively low spending as a local authority per 100,000 population. The Local Government Association publish information about spend later on in the year, but you can view information for 2022 to 2023 online.

Facts and figures

People receiving support

Adult Social Care receive a large volume of requests for support on a day-to-day basis. Our aim is to maximise people’s independence and support people in the least intrusive way:

• 10,773 new requests for support (remains similar last year’s figure of 10,772). 5% of requests resulted in a long-term service (similar as last year’s 5.2%)
• 27% received low level support (increase on last year’s 25%)
• 26% received a short-term service to promote independence (increase on last year’s 25%)
• 4,721 people received long term support during the year out of which 3,650 people received long term support as of 31 March 2024
• 2,724 people had been in long term support for over 12 months as at 31 March 2024
• 1,364 people received a planned or unplanned review throughout the year (compared to 1,279 last year)
• 43 people transitioned from Children’s Services to Adult Social Care compared to 29 last year

Carers receiving an assessment

Adult Social Care have an equal responsibility for anyone providing unpaid care within the city. Anyone providing necessary care to another adult is entitled to a carer’s assessment:

• 1,221 carers had their needs assessed in 2023 to 2024
• 1,929 carers received support

How do we compare?

CQC Local Area Analysis data suggests in Coventry, compared to other local authorities that have similar populations, that we think of other solutions first, signposting to universal services and other community support rather than looking at traditional models of support. To explore the Local Area Analysis in more detail you can view the most recent reports from CQC [http://www.cqc.org.uk/publications/themes-care/area-data-profiles#profiles-c].

In comparison to other Local Authorities Coventry continues to have;

• low rates of new requests for Adult Social Care, with an average of 30 a day compared to the national average of 36 in 2022 to 2023
• a lower rate of new requests for Adult Social Care support going straight into an ongoing long term service than comparators
• a higher proportion of new requests for people aged 65+ going on to receive short term support to maximise independence than comparators
• continued lower rate of people receiving long term support per 100,000 population compared with our comparators

Safeguarding

Protecting adults to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect is a core duty of Adult Social Care. The rising rate of safeguarding concerns reported suggests people know how to report abuse and we are addressing concerns without the need for an enquiry or investigation:

• 6,796 safeguarding concerns received, an 8% increase from previous year (6,278)
• 20% the rate of concerns that led to an enquiry, up from 17% last year
• 77% of enquiries were concluded within 0-3 months
• 1,353 safeguarding enquiries, a 28% increase from the previous year (1,055)
• 1,345 completed safeguarding enquiries were undertaken in the year compared to 985 in the previous year
• 1,018 people (87%) were asked about their outcomes, a decrease from 90% of people asked last year (890)
• 96% of people reported fully achieved/partially achieved outcomes compared to 94% last year

We continue to closely monitor all our activity and use ‘sampling’ audits and develop improvement plans when we need to look into our approaches in more depth.

How do we compare?

Coventry has a higher rate of concerns per 100,00 population in 2023 to 2024 (2457) compared to 2022 to 2023 England (1313) and West Midlands (1474). Coventry has a higher rate of enquiries started in 2023 to 2024 (489) compared to 2022 to 2023 England (387) and significantly higher than West Midlands (229).

The high number of concerns started compared to England and West Midlands has meant that Coventry’s conversion rate (20%) is lower than England (29%) but higher than the West Midlands conversion rate (16%). 2023 to 2024 comparator data is due to be published in August 2024 on the NHS website. [http://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/safeguarding-adults]

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)

The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The safeguards aim to make sure that people in care homes and hospitals are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom:

• there has been an 11% decrease in the number of applications - 2,412 in 2024 to 2025, 2,701 in 2023 to 2024.
• 255 (10%) are in due process compared with 463 (17%) in 2023 to 2024
• in 2024/25 2,157 applications completed, a 6% decrease from 2,238 in 2023 to 2024
• there was a decrease of applications granted after 6 months of being received from 87 (9%) in 2023 to 2024 to 23 (10%) in 2024 to 2025
• 98% granted under 6 months (average time to complete 80 days)

How do we compare?

Comparator information will be published at the end of 2025 however we know last year, we saw a higher proportion of applications compared to other regions that Coventry share similarities with. And similarly, we completed a higher proportion of assessments than our comparators. Nationally local authorities completed on average 716 DoLS applications per 100,000 of the population in 2023 to 2024 and in Coventry this figure was 963 applications per 100,000 in 2023 to 2024. 

Demographics

Coventry the City - Drivers of Demand

Coventry's population is growing, changing and increasingly diverse:

• Coventry is home to 345,300 residents (census 2021) second largest Local Authority in the West Midlands. Coventry's population has grown by 8.9% over the last 10 years
• 65.5% of people in Coventry identified their ethnic group within the ‘White’ category (compared with 73.8% in 2011)
• 18.5% identified their ethnic group as ‘Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh’ category (compared with 16.3% in 2011)
• the diversity in spoken languages is also increasing
• deprivation within the City has decreased in more recent years, the % of Coventry neighbourhoods that are amongst the 10% most deprived in England reduced from 18.5% to14.4% (between 2015 and 2019). However, over a quarter (25.6%) of neighbourhoods are amongst the most deprived 20% of areas, a particular focus for the health system for tackling inequalities (the ‘Core20’)
• life expectancy in the city remains lower than the national and regional averages. For females this is 82 years and for males 78 years. There are significant health inequalities across our neighbourhoods
• 13% of the population is 65+ projected to increase by 27.7% by the year 2043
• the median age of the population is 35, five years lower than that of the region and England at 40
• 2.4% of the population are aged 85 or over

Our workforce

The people that provide support where required:

• 1062 Internal Staff (including housing)
• 81.4% Female staff, and 18.6% Male staff
• Average age of workforce 48 years
• 57.5% workforce aged over 45
• 31.83% of workforce is minority ethnic
• 62.6% of the workforce is white
• vacancy rate is 12.23%
• leaver rate is 13.05% (136 people)
• new starter rate is 16% (168 people)
• the wider Adult Social Care workforce in Coventry amounts to 9,550 jobs which includes staff working in 206 CQC registered establishments

In 2024 to 2025 we joined the Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard (SC-WRES), run by the Department for Health and Social Care with Skills for Care producing our first action plan. The WRES programme aims to progress workforce race equality in adult and children’s social care and empower local authorities to address any gaps or concerns of inequality in their workforce. You can see our Social Care Workforce Race Equality Standard (SC-WRES) Action Plan here.  [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/adult-social-care-strategies-policies-plans/social-care-workforce-race-equality-standard-sc-wres-action-plan-1]

Our key achievements

The previous section contained a volume of data and comparisons across a number of areas of performance. To summarise this as succinctly as possible would be to say that Coventry continues to support a relatively low number of people with ongoing care and support needs and as a result is a comparatively low spender on Adult Social Care

This position has largely been arrived at by our approach to Adult Social Care and Support which is based on supporting people to be as independent as possible. Where independence has been lost or reduced, we work with people to regain skills and where levels of independence have been limited, we work with people to improve this. Our goal is for people to be living independently within their own homes. This is not always achievable and in many cases living independently is only possible with support.

The examples in this report give a flavour of how we have delivered this approach, our commitments in our Adult Social Care Offer and priorities within the One Coventry Plan 2022 to 2030.

The Report this year is framed around the CQC Themes and Quality Statements and we have used real examples with the consent of those involved.

Working with people

Improving outcomes and tackling inequalities within our communities

This theme covers how we work with people, assessing their needs, maximising their independence, supporting people to live healthier lives ensuring a focus on those who may experience more inequality. 

Assessing needs

Developing our carers support offer

The assessment process is one of the most important elements of the care and support system, a key interaction between a local authority and a person, whether an adult needing care or a carer. We recognise the important role carers play in supporting people and continue to take steps to develop the support we provide to carers.

Carers Action Plan 2024 to 2026

Last year we wrote about the commencement of our Carers Action Plan, which outlines our three priorities over the next 2 years and the actions we will be undertaking. This included:

• empower carer with flexible respite options ensuring they can take breaks
• deliver the right support at the right time and in the right place
• maximise the reach of carers assessments to benefit more carers

The progress of the plan has been aided by positive partnership working with University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW), our Accelerated Reform Fund projects (see page 35 for more details) and a number of new initiatives such as working with Transport for West Midlands to introduce a free 9-month bus pass for carers registered with the Carers Trust Heart of England, this lead to over 600 carers receiving a free bus pass between September and March.

Last year we saw a 32% increase in the uptake of Carers Assessments and a small increase in the use of direct payments for carers. We saw much more personalised outcomes being explored with carers direct payments. We also saw greater utilisation of respite and short breaks provision, meaning more carers are receiving well needed breaks across the city.

What next?

The Carers Action Plan is a two-year plan which will conclude in 2026. In the next year we aim to explore access to respite and breaks for carers alongside the recommissioning of carers support services and the continued implementation of Accelerated Reform Fund projects.

Before we get to providing support for Carers, there is a crucial stage in the work we do, which is identification. It takes on average 2 years to recognise yourself as a carer when a caring role commences, which often means access to information and support is delayed.

In Coventry we use a range of different activities and campaigns to identify unpaid carers, taking a proactive whole system approach. We know that often, by the time someone requires support through Adult Social Care, they have often been caring for a long time, so our approach to identification is trying to identify unpaid carers early on in their caring journey, such as in health care settings, through work and within local communities. 

We work primarily with the Carers Trust Heart of England to achieve this but come together as multi-agency group bi-monthly to drive this work forward and in the last year many of our partners have committed to undertaking their own identification campaigns, which has been wholly positive.

Carers told us that the most likely place they access is the GP surgery, so since 2019 we have commissioned a GP carer identification project. The project has worked with every GP surgery across the city (60 surgeries) to increase carer awareness, this might be by having information within the surgery such as leaflets or a board or on screens, the project has also set up surgeries within several practices so carers can receive direct support at the surgery.

Other examples of working to identify carers include:

• work with UHCW to produce a carer identification card and a carers passport for staff
• promoting Digital technology such as Bridgit (online support for carers)
• incentives and support, such as the West Midlands Bus pass and a Go CV+ Card (leisure and recreational facilities discounts)
• work being undertaken by Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust (CWPT) to implement the Triangle of Care (a national initiative that recognises the nuances of caring for someone with a mental health condition and the importance of carer involvement in the care of their loved one)
• working with employers, with a Working Carers Development officer that supports work places, increasing awareness of caring and ‘The Carer Friendly Employer Program’
• Young Carer Identification, working with schools, school nurses and family hubs
• drop-in sessions and events across the city with targeted campaigns with the support of Carers Trust Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officers

A Carer's Assessment is an opportunity for someone with caring responsibilities to talk about their caring role, the impact that is has on their life, planning for the future and what they would like to achieve.

A Carer's wellbeing assessment

A Carer's Wellbeing Assessment is a good opportunity to talk about your needs as a carer, the impact caring has had on you, what you’d like to achieve and explore any support you think that might help, this might include the use of a carers direct payment to support you in your caring role.

Muthu’s example demonstrates the holistic support that can be offered and the continuation of that support when needed. Anyone with caring responsibilities can receive an assessment of their needs, it doesn’t matter how much care you're giving or how long you have been a carer, we work in partnership with Carers Trust Heart of England to deliver Carers Wellbeing Assessments.

Kirstin Clarke Assistant Director Adult Social Care said: ‘unpaid carers are the unsung heroes who dedicate time, energy, and compassion to support loved ones without financial reward. Caring for those who care for others is not just kindness— it's the foundation of a compassionate society’.

Muthu's Story

Having a Carer's assessment

Muthu was first put in touch with the Carers Trust when the receptionist at her GP surgery recognised her caring role. Muthu at that time felt overwhelmed with her caring responsibilities, her husband had been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She was supported to apply for attendance allowance and apply for a legal power of attorney.

“Since registering, if I ever needed to talk to anyone, they (Carers Trust) were there for me to talk me through how or where to get help. Everything I have learnt in my caring role is because of Carers Trust”

Muthu continued attending groups and activities over the years. In August 2024 it was clear that Muthu was struggling with the overwhelming responsibilities she had. She was supported to access the Carers Trust counselling project, which helped implement some coping strategies and gave Muthu a safe space to talk about her own wellbeing.

“Had counselling when I was really, really down. It was SO helpful ! And gave me some strategies and exercises to do to help”.

She also explained that the counselling helped her understand:

"I need to ask for help when I need it, from family and services”.

Muthu also agreed that now was right time to have a Carers Wellbeing Assessment and it was undertaken by a Wellbeing Advisor and a student social worker at the Carers Trust.

The assessment explored Muthu’s caring role and that she was not only looking after her husband but other family members too. Muthu also had her own health needs, including asthma and was waiting for an operation. Muthu still very much wanted to remain caring for her husband.

“I found the process (assessment and direct payment) GREAT ! you were both very friendly, I had no problem understanding the process and could tell that you had really understood my circumstances. You were very pleasant and helpful". 

The Wellbeing Advisor made a number of recommendations including utilising a Carers Direct Payment. The Carers Trust helped Muthu look at options, such as cleaning services but it became apparent that Muthu needed the house to be deep cleaned as mould had built up in the bedroom and bathroom and this was impacting everyone’s health. The Direct Payment was used to pay for the deep clean and to remove the mould. Muthu was provided with information about the several schemes in Coventry that can support with insulation and preventing the mould from returning and she received further advice about ventilating the house and a de-humidifier.

“I can sleep so much better in my bedroom I feel happier that it is not going to affect my breathing (Muthu has asthma). I have had ventilation fitted in the house and have peace of mind that my health will not get any worse than it is.”

Muthu was also referred to the #CovConnects programme provided by the Council, a scheme which helps address digital exclusion with Coventry residents, where she received a laptop. The laptop means that Muthu can attend Zoom meetings and keep in touch with friends and family, reducing the isolation she was experiencing. This was Muthu’s preferred way to take part in activities and keep in touch due to her caring responsibilities.

Muthu continues to receive support from the Carers Trust Heart of England, accessing their activities and groups. As part of having a Carers Wellbeing Assessment regular reviews can take place and on an annual basis.

Supporting people to live healthier lives

Alva's road to recovery

What was the situation? Alva is an 82-year-old woman, who lives with her husband Phil. Alva has macular degeneration, an eye disease that can blur your central vision and is registered blind. Alva had previously received rehabilitation support from the Councils Visual and Hearing Impairment Team but no care and support from Adult Social Care being independent with her social care needs.

Alva was originally born in Staffordshire; she moved to Sunderland to attend the teacher training college. She met Phil in Sunderland; they married in 1963 and moved to Coventry. They had a son named Martyn and 5 years later she started working for the Department of Health and Social Security in Coventry where she stayed for 7 years before moving to the Job Centre and stayed there for over 30 years before eventually retiring. Alva had a fall coming into the house from the back garden and fractured her ‘Neck of Femur’ (sometimes known as a broken hip). Alva was admitted and a needed operation to resolve the fracture. Alva was in hospital for two weeks, at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) and then Rugby St Cross and then was discharged home with the support from 1 of the 3 Local Integrated Teams (LITs) in the south of the city.

What did we do?

Alva was experiencing problems with her mobility, it not being what it was before the accident. Alva needed to use a wheeled walking frame and was lacking in confidence and nervous. Alva was discharged with 2 home support calls a day, aimed at helping her to regain independence.

Caroline an Adult Social Care Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) completed an initial assessment to establish what she wanted to achieve in terms of her independence and identified the need for some aids and equipment which included grab rails in the shower. A physiotherapist from the team ‘Declan’ got involved with the aim of improving Alva’s mobility and eventually to achieve her aim of being able to use a stick to walk with, indoors and outdoors. This included having a home exercise programme to increase strength and balance. 

Lisa an ‘Assistant Practitioner’, worked closely with Alva supporting her with this physio programme. Alva received support for up to 6 weeks and during this time the care and support she received reduced as she improved and gained confidence in getting dressed and showered. 

What difference did it make and how are things now?

Alva regained her confidence and no longer needed any care, support or the input of professionals returning to her previous level of independence

Alva said:

“I have no fault with anything, everyone was great. All the carers were very helpful. Declan and Lisa were great and thank you to Caroline for all her help”.

Caroline said:

"It was pleasure, supporting Alva to achieve her goals and become independent again, which is what the service is all about."

Since going live in June 2024, 3 Local Integrated Teams (LITs) - comprising of health and care professionals from Coventry City Council and University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire and Coventry City Council in a single integrated team to support the whole urgent and emergency care pathway - have provided support for over 6,000 people.

Over the year, LITs have meant that 840 people have avoided an unnecessary hospital admission, fewer people with an urgent care need required a long stay in a care home and over 2,000 people were supported for a short while in their home, or close to where they live. The teams are based in Newfield House, the Opal Centre and Tile Hill Primary Care Centre.

Lead for One Coventry Integrated Team (OCIT), Jodie Storrow said:

"What we’ve achieved in a year is truly astonishing. I would like to thank each and every member of the LITs for their compassion and dedication to working differently to deliver improved outcomes for the people of Coventry."

"Day in, day out, you are working as a single integrated team which is fundamentally changing the way we support people with an urgent need."

Aideen Staunton Head of Service, Partnerships and Social Care Operations said:

‘‘What a lovely story that illustrates how working in an integrated way, with a variety of other professionals to promote someone’s independence achieves amazing outcomes for people. It is wonderful to see how Alva has regained her confidence and independence with support from a great team". 

What’s next?

We are now just passed our 1-year anniversary of our Local Integrated Teams. While we have achieved a lot within that timeframe, we continue to work collectively to embed new ways of working and work creatively to find the best outcomes for the people we support.

We continue to work with NHS colleagues within University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire and in the community to support hospital discharge and also how we avoid people needing to be admitted to hospital in the first instance. We are also embracing new technologies and excited to see how we develop this approach further in the next year to further support people’s independence and ability to remain at home.

How do we want our services to be arranged?

We will start to break down the barriers between services by initially focussing on the highlighted areas:

• we will improve flow, simplify discharges and ED outcomes by working on processes in the hospital which don't rely on the wider system
• we will be building local integrated teams with single operational management across Coventry. These teams will handle all urgent health and social care needs for residents, either directly providing the support or coordinating specialist teams. The resident will be on one caseload
• these teams will be connected through human and digital interfaces to a wide range of people from care providers to WMAS, to those working in discharge and the front door

Equity in experiences and outcomes

We continue to seek understanding of how accessible our services are and the barriers and inequalities in the way in which we offer support and care. To do this we access a wide range of information, data and feedback from our staff and the people we support. We recognise that people can be at risk of having unmet needs or poor outcomes due to their protected characteristics.

"Seldom-heard groups" refers to individuals who are under-represented. Mental health stigma can contribute to this "seldom-heard" status, as it discourages individuals from seeking help and sharing their experiences. This lack of voice can result in inadequate support and services for those who need them most.

Supporting and engaging with migrant communities

Coventry has a history of welcoming migrants and refugees, with a diverse population that includes many individuals outside the city. We already have an existing Migration Team in Coventry that supports migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and individuals with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).

What have we done?

We appointed a full time Social Worker, who has been in post since April 2024. The Social Worker plays a vital role providing support under Care Act 2014 (for adults with eligible needs), Section 117 aftercare (for those discharged from mental health hospitals) and safeguarding duties. A role being key in advocating for migrant rights and fair access to support where eligibility exists.

What difference has this made?

Supporting Mohammed

Mohammed is a 31-year old asylum seeker from Bangladesh. He has one sister and is currently residing in the UK with his mother after the passing of his father in 2013. He entered the UK on a 5-year skilled worker visa in May 2022, having a professional background in civil engineering. However, his employment history in the UK has largely been limited to the role authorised to work.

Mohammed has longstanding psychiatric issues exacerbated by experiences of displacement and trauma. He was admitted to Hospital for a few months and discharge planning was coordinated through extensive multi-agency collaboration, involving the Home Office, police, and mental health services.

A safe discharge pathway was arranged, including accommodation and consistent mental health follow-up. Family involvement, particularly the role of his mother, was central to the discharge plan, recognising the importance of familial support in his recovery. Mohammed is now settled in Home Office accommodation, near his family network, and he is now attending Adult Education classes. Support from mental health services and the migration Team is on an ongoing basis, and he hasn’t had any other admissions for a number of months.

Preventing Homelessness

Matthew's story - regaining control

What was the situation?

Having spent most of his life experiencing mental health issues mainly centred around depression, Matthew had found himself homeless and all personal relationships left in tatters.

He approached Coventry City Council and placed in temporary accommodation for 7 months before being offered a one bedroomed flat with Citizen Housing. At this point, he felt he was given the chance to rebuild his life, achieve some sort of stability, and hope to rebuild a relationship with his siblings.

However, over the next 2 years, Matthew struggled to stay in employment due to his mental health and felt overwhelmed with the pressures of trying to maintain the flat. With debts piling up and a repossession Court Order on the flat, he became more and more isolated with suicidal thoughts. Matthew decided to phone the Mental Health Crisis Line, anticipating that after having the flat repossessed, he would need some sort of support whilst trying to begin the process again of rebuilding his life again. 

Matthew had an initial assessment at the Caludon Centre, Coventry, where several referrals were made for him, one being to the Pod Cafe, Coventry.

“I have to admit, I held out no hope of my housing situation being resolved, thinking really that in a matter of days I would have an eviction date and would need all the advice I could find on how to prevent myself being back on the streets.”

What happened, what support was provided?

He walked into the Pod extremely emotional, and was introduced to Social Advocate/Development Worker, Tamsin. Matthew reflects on this point, stating:

“And that’s where the magic happened!! I cannot understate how impressive the next few weeks proved to be. Tamsin and the overall atmosphere in the Pod came across as very empathetic, obviously very interested and supportive as I explained the situation, after that first initial appointment whilst still feeling hopeless I had a feeling that I had found somebody I could trust and open up to, had I not felt that way, it's pretty undeniable that I would not have returned and would be in a totally different situation. I left that appointment still with very little hope but with the belief that I had found someone who would at the very least be supportive once I had lost the flat". 

On his second appointment, Matthew learned that Tamsin had spent time researching and planning the options available to him with an enthusiasm to help. Having contacted Citizen Housing on his behalf, she had managed to get an adjournment on the repossession order for four weeks which would give some time to try and find other solutions and support.

“It's almost impossible to put into words the feeling of confidence she instilled in me that day.”

An equitable approach demands that we have continue to focus on what we can do to highlight inclusivity in our practice and develop our own cultural competence (the ability to communicate and support people across cultures through positive behaviours and attitudes). Training for staff has taken place to build understanding, awareness and confidence in having conversations, including sessions on; Religion, Belief and Spirituality and Older LGBTQ+ people, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people and neurodiversity.

A programme of Social GGRRAAACESSS training (for senior managers, front line managers and staff) commenced in October 2024. This is an acronym highlighting Gender, Geography, Race, Religion, Age, Ability, Appearance, Class, Culture, Ethnicity, Education, Employment, Sexuality, Sexual Orientation and Spirituality.

Promoting Social Graces upholds individuals’ rights, encourages inclusivity and celebrates diversity. It can help staff to be holistic in their approach with people, connect meaningfully with those they are supporting, remove barriers to engagement and ensure that strengths-based practice is meaningful.

Tracey Denny, Head of Service Localities and Social Care Operations said:

"Equity is so important to pay attention to in Adult Social Care, we need to ensure everyone regardless of their background or circumstances has access to the support that they need, it’s about recognising that people have different needs and that providing the same service or support to everyone doesn’t lead to equal outcomes."

Providing support

This theme focuses on how we provide support ensuring its flexible and supports choice and continuity and how we work in partnership with others to achieve this.

Care provision, integration and continuity

Meaningful care and support

Supporting providers

During the last 12 months Coventry’s (Care Homes and Community Based Adult Social Care services) Care Quality Commissioning (CQC) ratings have remained relatively stable. We have seen a slight reduction in the amount of providers rated ‘good’ but we have also seen a reduction in the amount of providers identified as ‘inadequate’.

The Joint Health and Social Care Quality Assurance Team work with operational colleagues to ensure the safety of individuals in receipt of support, including where provision was rated as ‘Inadequate’ or ‘Requires Improvement’.

Recruitment and retention Recruitment and retention in the workforce has it’s challenges. We try and take a proactive approach to encouraging recruitment and work with providers long-term to support retention of staff. Over the course of the year the Commissioning Team supported a number of different events working with the Migration Team, Coventry City College, the Job Shop, Library and the Job Centre+. The event at Job Centre+ brought in over 500 attendees, with people having informal interviews and opportunities to develop their career in Adult Social Care.

Skills for Care data 2023 to 2024 (2024 to 2025 data not available yet) evidences the positive impact and influence our approach is having across the provider market in Coventry. The lower turnover rate supports our aim of improving consistency of care for people, consistency of care was a key factor for people we engaged with about home support services. The lower vacancy rates, also reduces the need for agency staff, and again supports our aim of improving consistency of care across the sector.

Staff turnover rate in Coventry was 23.8%, which was lower than the region average of 26.7% and England at 24.8%.

The Commissioning Team continue to support providers with recruitment using a different range of approaches from workshops to explore recruitment and retention to working with our partners to onboard staff.

Provider forums

Provider forums are an important way of fostering partnership working between different providers, sharing the challenges of running care provision but also new ideas, approaches and providing mutual support to one another. The Commissioning Team hold regular provider forums, for mental health, home support, learning disabilities provision, care homes and housing with care.

Market Place events

Coventry is a diverse, changing city with lots of fabulous organisations that all work to improve the lives of Coventry residents, but one thing we often get told is that it’s hard to keep on top of what’s going on in the city. This year, continuing the success of last year’s event we held two sessions in May and November 2024. Both sessions were incredibly busy, an opportunity for staff and volunteers to find out more about organisations in the city. It also proved a great opportunity for networking and wider collaboration amongst organisations.

Katie – A new start with Shared Lives

Shared Lives is a Scheme that recruits and approves Carers from all walks of life. The Scheme’s expertise is in introducing and matching individuals who are assessed as having social care needs with approved Shared Lives Carers who invite individuals into their family homes to share their lives.

Katie’s story highlights how co-production and being introduced to the right carer and family really can be life changing. Katie is a vibrant young woman who is full of joy and enthusiasm for life. Katie is registered blind and uses technology to her advantage, learning to read Stage 2 Braille at the age of 5. Katie was first introduced to the Scheme by her social worker who has worked with the Scheme previously and is aware of its values and philosophies.

Katie has always lived with her mum Sue, who remains as supportive as ever and supports Katie with her life choices. It was a huge decision for them to explore alternative support which was initially some respite with Shared Lives. When Katie was introduced to Shared Lives Carer Lucy, Katie said

“I just knew it was right, Lucy was so warm and caring, I could tell by the way she spoke to me I would like it here, she welcomed me into her home like family. I wanted to move in straight away.” 

To ensure the placement was right, Katie had many visits to Lucy's home, firstly for drinks and to meet all the family, eventually staying overnight and for weekends.

Lucy was honest, she had not supported someone with a severe visual impairment before and she told us:

“I want to be the best support that I can and Katie has supported me in my journey of supporting her”.

It soon became clear to Lucy, her biggest asset for learning was going to be Katie. Lucy said,

“Katie showed me the support she needed, she was the one guiding me”.

Katie agreeing, stating “together we make a great team”. As the introductions continued it really was the perfect match. 

Katie is someone who relies on people’s voices and always thought Lucy’s voice was very kind. Katie’s Mum Sue, who gets very emotional talking about Katie’s introduction, because of how lucky they feel,

“Lucy and her family are now like my family, we get on so well, we really couldn’t have found anyone better.”

Sue says:

“I am so happy for Katie’s future, it gives me peace of mind, that Katie now has someone who will care for her as I do.” Katie also added “Mum can now spend time on herself, I like to know that.”

As always it was vital that we got everything right and the only way of doing that was to really understand how Katie needed her support with regards to her sight and keeping Katie central in the person-centred planning. Katie led on her non negotiables, her likes and dislikes and how best to promote her independence, maintaining her activities including day services, yoga, and space for her meditation.

Before respite began, we sought guidance from the Adult Social Care Visual and Hearing Rehabilitation Team who suggested a couple of simple but really effective ideas to help Katie identify her room and the bathroom. It was suggested to put things on the door handles such as a hair band on one and something different on the other and this worked brilliantly. Lucy also arranged for a home visit from West Midlands Fire Service who offered guidance in the case of a fire or emergency. Respite arrangements soon became a long-term placement with Shared Lives.

Sue said,

“I had cared for everyone else but not for me”

Katie moving in with Lucy has meant that:

“I have quality time for myself and still see Katie, I’m not as stressed anymore and feel I now have a more natural relationship with Katie”.

Sue told us that it has been a massive reassurance for her and that it has changed her life too.

Katie said:

“It has given me freedom, a fresh life and I’m so happy. It has given me quality of life, and consistency of care, and has given my mum a break and time to focus on herself, I really couldn’t be happier".

Katie wanted to sum up how she now feels, Katie said when she visits her Mum’s home, she tells her:

“this will always be my family home, but now I am going back to my home.”

Each year a Shared Lives celebration event is held, bringing carers and families together to share stories and friendships. Hear from Katie and Lucy who attended in this is this video clip about their experiences.  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyPanoKXzqU]

Shared Lives offers adults the opportunity to live with approved Carers in ordinary family homes, experiencing all the advantages, joys and sometimes difficulties of family life. If you feel you could change someone’s life whilst enhancing your own, and are interested in becoming a Shared Lives Carer, or wish to know more about the Scheme please visit our website.  [http://coventry.gov.uk/sharedlives]

Jon Reading, Head of Commissioning and Quality said: 

"Maintaining and improving the quality of Adult Social Care provision in the City is a major undertaking but we are lucky to have a joint quality function with clinical input from quality nurses adding strength to our council team. We have a great set of providers who share our passion for delivering personalised and compassionate care and continue to support them through a number of recruitment initiatives. In the last year, we are proud of how we have led the way on providing support for international recruits and the invaluable role they play in supporting Adult Social Care."

Partnerships and Communities

Coventry Dementia Partnership Hub

In last year’s Annual Report, we shared information regarding the first year of the Coventry Dementia Partnership Hub, a place where people with Dementia and their families can come for information, support and engagement from pre-diagnosis onwards, with an emphasis on partnerships and promoting independence and peer support. At the heart of the Hub is a social café, offering a space for people to meet and share experiences in a welcoming and comfortable environment. The Hub was created following a series of engagement and coproduction events and this continues through the Hub’s Steering Group, supporting the development of the service with contributions from those with lived experience.

The Hub celebrates its second year anniversary in July 2025 and reflecting back over the last year, there are lots of achievements and developments to celebrate. Hear about the impact the Hub is having on people’s lives. 

Graham and Hazel’s story

We first discovered the Hub through the Memory Service Team in Coventry, who invited us to attend the Next Steps Fayre in December 2024. Around the same time, my husband, Graham, began a 6-week ‘Living Well with Dementia’ course offered by the team.

Throughout the course, Graham learned practical strategies to support his memory and daily living. Just as importantly, he had the opportunity to connect with others in similar situations and share experiences. While Graham attended the sessions, I spent time in the Hub’s café, where I met other carers. A member of staff kindly gave me a tour of the building and introduced me to the wide range of services available.

One of those services was the Wednesday coffee morning, which we began attending and continue to enjoy. Graham joins a group of friends to play dominoes, while I have the chance to relax and chat with others. I’ve formed meaningful friendships with people I feel comfortable sharing my experiences and challenges with. Although each of our journeys is different, it’s comforting to speak with others who truly understand.

Over time, we’ve become part of a supportive and welcoming community. Wherever we go, Graham and I always speak highly of the Hub to help raise awareness of the incredible support it offers. 

We also attended the VE Celebration Day and had a fantastic time. We were up singing and dancing, and the buffet provided by the Hub café was absolutely lovely.

The Hub means so much to both of us. It’s more than just a place - it’s a lifeline, a community, and a source of joy. 

Promoting wellbeing through Art

"My name is Melanie, and I bring over 15 years of experience as a Wellbeing Coordinator in dementia care. Art plays a vital role in supporting individuals to live well with dementia. It fosters creativity, encourages communication, and has a profoundly positive impact on overall wellbeing. Each week on a Wednesday morning 10:00-12:00, we continue to see growing interest from visitors to the Hub, and the art sessions are proving to be truly exceptional. All the family would like to say thank you”.

International Recognition ‘CommonAge Report – Dementia in the Commonwealth’

In the report the Dementia Hub is referenced in connection with the co-design and coproduction approach used to create this service. This is a significant acknowledgement of how Coventry is leading the way in this field. You can read the full report on their website.  [http://commage.org]

National Dementia Care Awards 2024

For the second year The Hub was recognised in the National Dementia Care Awards nominations and Ruth Chauhan won her category of “Inspirational person with dementia” for her work at The Hub. Ruth is a key member of the team and as a person living with a dementia, she really does show that you can live well with dementia. Ruth is also a member of The Hub’s Culturally Inclusive Group where the aim is to reach out to underserved communities, she volunteers her time and expertise whenever it is needed.

Ruth said:

"I couldn’t quite believe it when they announced my name as the winner. This award is for everyone who overcomes the difficulties that come with cognitive impairment. If I can inspire just one person to believe that by embracing a ‘new normal’ you can overcome anything and make a difference, then all the challenges I face every day are worth it."

Shashi Prasad (Lions Club for Coventry Godiva) was also shortlisted for the Diversity and Dementia award, which recognised Shashi’s role as chair of the Culturally Inclusive sub group which supports the Coventry Dementia Partnership Hub work. 

Shashi’s role is integral to raising awareness of dementia in global majority communities, seeking to break down stigmas around dementia.

Expanding Diversity and Inclusivity 

In order to promote the service to a wider community and improve inclusivity, the Hub has developed a Culturally Inclusive sub-group of the Dementia Hub Steering Group. This group is chaired by a person with lived experience who also represents a voluntary charitable organisation, Lions Club of Coventry Godiva. 

The group has created culturally sensitive information and guidance, translated into the main languages used within the city. These have been distributed within diverse communities to promote within targeted audiences, including places of worship. Members of the Dementia Hub Steering Group will attend a Vaisakhi Sports Festival and Mela in May 2025 to promote the Hub and share information. The Hub has also hosted events focussing on welcoming people from South Asian communities to and learn about the services and support available. The sub-group has also created 2 video blogs in Urdu [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLkyo_iWiws]and Punjabi [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urIwa5ejnmo] talking about the symptoms of dementia, how to receive a diagnosis and the support available at the Hub. 

A range of tools used to tackle language barriers both in assessments and ongoing care provision has also been provided e.g. use of Alexa, flashcards. This has raised awareness of how services could meet the needs of individuals from diverse communities.

There is a newly established regular monthly ‘Information and Advice’ drop-in at the Forget-me not café based in Hub called ‘Dementia Awareness and Prevention Days’ specifically on Sundays to accommodate those who may not be able to attend during the week. These days are open to all, but promotion has been targeted towards those communities from the global majority who are not traditionally accessing services.

Running alongside this is a small project group “improving access to short term services from diverse communities” managers of short-term services meet with both the hospital team and brokerage to understand and monitor referral information. There is now a pool of staff from each short-term service who can speak a second language that enables us to better support in assessing new referrals.

The Culturally Inclusive subgroup continues to grow with representation from the Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi and Malaysian communities all working to the same aim of improving access from diverse communities.

National Lottery Funding

Following a successful bid the Hub has been awarded funding from the National Lottery for more than £280,000 over the next 5 years to support the funding of the social café and everyone involved in the Dementia Hub are delighted at the news.

The lottery funding will fund 2 café-coordinators for 5 years. The 2 café co-ordinators run the café that leads into the social space.

What’s next?

Future Developments at the Hub The team at the Hub are continuing to develop services and look for new ways to support people. Looking ahead there are a number of exciting events coming up:

• Coventry Memory Singers - A new Memory Singers group in Coventry will help people living with dementia connect with loved ones and enjoy the therapeutic, social and cognitive benefits of music. Coventry Memory Singers will take place at Dementia Hub and is open to anyone with dementia and their carers. Sessions begin in September 2025. Run by the renowned choir and music charity Armonico Consort, based in Warwick, this is the third Memory Singers group to be established, with others in Solihull and Warwick
• Bike Tour Mini Performance with James May - In conjunction with the Armonico Consort a fundraising bike tour will make a stop at the Dementia Hub in September 2025 and perform a mini concert. They will also be joined by TV personality James May and international wine expert, Oz Clarke

Lisa Lawson, Adult Services Programme Delivery Manager said:

"What an amazing year of achievement and recognition the Hub has had! The team at the Hub continue to develop and expand the service and their ability to reach more communities within the city through their dedication, innovation and love of what they do. Congratulations to all those involved and here’s to another successful year!"

For any enquiries regarding the services provided by the Coventry Partnership Dementia Hub please contact CDPH@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:CDPH@coventry.gov.uk] or telephone 024 7697 8080.

Ensuring safety

This theme focuses on how we work with people and our partners to ensure care is safe and how we support people to live in safety free from abuse and harm.

Safe systems, pathways and transitions

What are Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)?

The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are a legal framework within the Mental Capacity Act (2005), protecting the rights of individuals who lack the mental capacity to consent to their care arrangements, and who are, or need to be, deprived of their liberty in a care home or hospital. Ensures deprivations are authorised, necessary, and in the person's best interests.

A Best Interests Assessor (BIA) is a professional, often a social worker or other qualified practitioner, who assesses whether a proposed deprivation of liberty is in the best interests of a person who lacks the mental capacity to make that decision for themselves. In Adult Social Care we have a dedicated DoLS team alongside BIAs in our wider operational teams who undertake assessments. 

Lucy's story

What was the situation?

Lucy is 56 years of age, of Creole ethnicity and was born in Portugal and had been a British citizen for many years. Following a marriage breakdown, Lucy started to experience severe mental health episodes which led to her being detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.

Lucy was experiencing seizures which were affecting various parts of her brain and was left with an acquired brain injury from her seizure recurrence. Lucy was not able to walk anymore and she lost her verbal communication skills. Lucy was supported to move to permanent nursing care and was subject to a DoLS.

Lucy’s family live in Portugal. Lucy was supported with the DoLS assessment by a Paid Relevant Person Representative (PRPR), from VoiceAbility. At the time the care home manager was using her private mobile telephone so that Lucy could see her family via WhatsApp video calls. Lucy was allocated a Mental Health Social Worker for the purpose of a care and support review. The Best Interest Assessor as part of the request to reauthorise the DoLS, worked with Lucy, her Social Worker, the care home, Lucy’s family, and the PRPR to ascertain a better understanding of Lucy’s previous wishes, her likes, her interests and to get an understanding of Lucy’s lived experience by focussing on her strengths.

Through telephone consultation with her sister, the BIA was able to gain crucial information about Lucy’s way of life. Lucy was being supported with a vegetarian diet. She had been pulling at her own hair as it was combed into a plait. Lucy would not make eye contact and look at the ceiling or down at her feet. The BIA found out that Lucy’s religion was especially important to her. Lucy previously prayed at set times during the day. She enjoyed a meat halal diet. She liked to wear traditional customary attire. Music was important to Lucy as well as regular contact with her family.

As part of the DoLS authorisation the BIA made a number of recommendations to the home with a focus on ensuring that any deprivation of a person's liberty was necessary, proportionate, and in their best interests, with appropriate safeguards in place but also focusing on ensuring her cultural and spiritual needs were met. 

What changes took place?

Lucy was supported to purchase an iPad. She had regular private video calls with her family, she would smile at the screen and appeared visibly happier. Her family were happy and very emotional to see her with oiled braided neatly combed hair and moisturised skin. This is a deeply rooted cultural practice which is often passed from one generation to another. Lucy was also supported by the care home to listen to prayers on her television. She wore both western and her traditional clothing. Her diet was prepared and permitted according to Islamic dietary laws. Her room was personalised with sensory activities such a touch, sound, picture books and word boards. Her bed was moved so that she could see through the window. The care home also allocated Lucy a keyworker who is from the same cultural background as her and supports her to access the local community. 

The care home made positive changes to see Lucy as a whole person, considering her previous choices, giving her dignity and respect whilst acknowledging her unique sense of self and gained knowledge to support Lucy with a fulfilling quality of life. The BIA was careful not to offend their excellent work but wanted them to appreciate how culture and diversity is more than just food, music, and customs for some people. For Lucy it was her way of life, her spirituality and who she was.

Eric Williams House

Supporting people with their move into the home

Moving into a care home can be a very daunting experience, new surroundings, new people, leaving behind the familiarities of home, its life changing. It can also be very difficult for family and those caring for the person, taking time to adjust and perhaps having mixed feeling of guilt and relief. So, how we support someone with that transition is really important. Here are two examples of how Eric Williams House (residential care home) have supported people and their families in a move to live at Eric Williams.

Marion is an 88-year-old woman who moved to Eric Williams House after a period of time in the home following a discharge from hospital. Marion has dementia and had experienced a fall and fracture at her home, where she lived with her son, Martyn. Marion’s son was getting worried and had anxiety when he was at work and she was home alone. Martyn had also been a carer for his father, Marion’s husband before he needed to go into a residential care home.

Marion often says how well looked after she feels and how much she enjoys the company of both staff and other residents. Marion is an independent woman who likes her own space at times, she has a good sense of humour and enjoys chatting the other residents and staff about her family and where she grew up in Baginton.

Before coming to Eric Williams Marion was always trying to help others and would often put others before herself. She loved musicals particularly South Pacific, she was in the past a keen ballroom dancer and really enjoyed country music.

Martyn himself identifies that he did have feelings of guilt and still has those feelings sometimes, but knows his mum is in the best place for her.

"The communication between Linda and the team, and myself has been excellent. They keep me informed with absolutely everything to do with my mum’s health and wellbeing, and the peace of mind this provides to me is priceless."

"The care staff are fabulous with mum (Carol, Becky, Angela, Caroline, Sandy - too many to mention) are all so caring, so loving, always encouraging mum but respecting her wishes too."

Gerald is 64 years old and has Down syndrome, learning disabilities, and dementia. 

From the moment Gerald arrived, the staff at Eric Williams House made him feel welcome and valued. They took the time to get to know him, his interests, and his needs, ensuring a smooth transition. Gerald loves staying busy with activities he enjoys.

At Eric Williams House, he can indulge in his favourite pastimes like watching TV soaps, doing jigsaw puzzles, and gardening. The staff also play his favourite music, including songs from "The Lion King," which always brings a smile to his face.

Gerald thrives in the community atmosphere at Eric Williams House. He enjoys talking to people and getting involved in whatever is happening around the home. Whether it's chatting about historical events or singing hymns he knows from church, Gerald feels connected and engaged.

The staff are attentive to Gerald's emotional needs. They understand that he can become anxious when away from his mother and provide the reassurance he needs. Their patience and understanding help Gerald feel secure and content.

Maintaining strong family bonds is important to Gerald. The staff facilitate regular visits from his mother, Pat, and his cousins, ensuring he never feels isolated. These visits are a highlight for Gerald and contribute to his overall happiness. Gerald’s cousin Clive stated:

"Gerald being at Eric Williams House has helped his mum – she recognises that Gerald is happy and settled. This has helped her to let go – she knows that Gerald is happy and well cared for."

Want to know more about Mental Capacity?

In Coventry we have our own website [http://umccoventry.co.uk] which provides information for adults, carers and providers of health and social care services living and working in Coventry. It aims to make information and guidance about the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which applies in England and Wales, more accessible and easily understood by everyone involved. 

Safeguarding

Sam's Story

What was the situation?

Sam is a 60-year-old man who worked as a gardener until his health prevented him from working 7 years ago. In March 2024 Sam had a stroke. As he lives alone, he was lying on the floor for 24 hours before a neighbour alerted police and they broke into his flat to find Sam lying on the floor. Sam was admitted to hospital and had a slow recovery assisted by the stroke rehabilitation unit.

On discharge from hospital Sam went for recovery to a Housing with Care where he could get support from carers. Sam lived in an Orbit tenancy and his property had become cluttered and stacked with food. Sam realised that he had a tendency to overbuy tins and packets of food and store these around his flat and was self-neglecting. Whilst living in his previous home Sam explained that he experienced depression due to social isolation and no longer being able to work. He had started drinking and neglecting his environment and himself.

During his time in Housing with Care rehabilitating Sam became more like his old self, he did not feel the need to drink alcohol and was enjoying socialising with other residents. Sam was provided with an Advocate to help him with his assessment and to help him express where he wanted to live and have care. Sam wanted to remain in a supported living environment where he could receive care and have support. A vacancy became available for Sam to move into. Sam was assisted to end his previous tenancy, sort out his gas and electricity bills and claim the disability benefit Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Age UK assisted Sam with moving home, applying for grants and in sourcing new furniture for his flat.

What difference did it make and how are things now?

Sam is now settled, he uses his 4-wheeled walker to go to the local shop to get his paper every day and enjoys socialising in the communal lounge with other residents. Housing with Care provides Sam with the care he needs and an environment where he has been able to thrive. Sam said:

"I am really settled here, I get on with everyone. I have a couple of close friends and chat with everyone. I have not wanted to drink alcohol since being here and my next goal is to cut down on smoking."

Stephanie who supported Sam said;

"When working with Sam, my approach was centred around ‘Making Safeguarding Personal' (MSP) recognising Sam's strengths and potential, despite the challenges he faced. The opportunity to live in Housing with Care provided a supportive environment where Sam could regain his sense of self and improve his mental well-being. Seeing Sam thrive and set new goals for himself has been incredibly rewarding."

Self-neglect is a category of abuse and neglect, and so the adult safeguarding duties outlined in the Care Act apply equally to cases of self-neglect. There are various reasons why people self-neglect.

Self-neglect can be a complex and challenging area of practice for professionals due to the diverse range of factors involved, the potential for high risks, and the difficulty in engaging individuals who may not recognize or accept the need for help. 

Self-neglect also forms part of the Coventry Safeguarding Adults Board [http://coventry.gov.uk/coventry-safeguarding-adults-board] strategic plans for 2024 to 2027, being identified as a critical safeguarding issue and practice area involving work with partners across Coventry. The Board has produced a range of guidance and undertaken multi-agency audits and learning events. 

Andrew Errington Head of Practice Development and Safeguarding (Adults Principal Social Worker) said:

"Supporting people who self-neglect can be very challenging, needing to balance rights, risks and taking time to understand the person, so it's great to see this being recognised in the support provided to Sam’. ‘Supporting people who self-neglect has become a common presenting need in our Complex Case and Risk Enablement Panel, chaired by myself as the Principal Social Worker since 2018 and features as a key part of our safeguarding training package for frontline staff."

Leadership

This theme is about how we ensure we appropriately manage our support and services, ensuring that we are always learning and improving.

Governance, management and sustainability

Performance matters

In Adult Social Care we believe performance management is everybody’s business and we seek to understand how well our services are doing, checking impact, outcomes, and learning from what we find to guide the development of our services.

We need to ensure all our staff are clear in their responsibilities for performance management and quality, as we recognise we are publicly accountable for quality, performance and the need to be transparent on how we can work together to improve outcomes for adults and their carers. This approach includes regular performance reporting and analysis of information and data. Performance data which focuses on critical areas and ensures there are no gaps in our understanding of how we are operating. Some of this data and analysis can be found earlier in the Annual Report on pages 10 to 14.

Through the Performance and Insight Team we have developed data and information dashboards to enable accessible and accurate data and information to be produced which can be used by staff and managers. These are utilised to inform planning and how we use resources.

Our approach is underpinned by policies, standards and guidance which together support the design and delivery of effective services. These include national performance frameworks (Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework - ASCOF), statutory information returns, local policies, procedures and standards. 

National indicators include a need to focus on enhancing the quality of life for people with care and support needs, delaying and reducing the need for care and support, ensuring that people have a positive experience of care and support, and that people are safe.

We identified from our surveys that people said they found it hard to find information about Adult Social Care which led to us reviewing how we provide information.

In the survey for adults with care and support needs for 2024 to 2025 ‘Ease of finding information’, improved significantly by 8.2% to 73.5%, reversing last year's decline and making it one of the top-performing indicators!

We continue to explore ways in which we can consider the quality of our services and better understand the experience of those accessing support. In 2024 we created a Quality and Experience Group chaired by our Adults Principal Social Worker which receives and review findings from the range of activities providing any feedback and insights into the quality of support and experiences of those accessing Adult Social Care.

We have processes in place to ensure the collation of practice learning and actions taken via a ‘Practice Development, Learning and Improvement Framework’. This involves being systematic in our process of identifying organisational wide learning, areas of improvement and sharing best practice across the organisation. We capture our learning (best practice and areas for development) in a centralised database.

We have undertaken a number of activities which have included:

• reviewed our 'ASC Offer', providing visibility on approach, commitments and access to practical information and key contacts
• reviewed and improved the accessibility of our Adult Social Care Webpage information following engagement.
• increased the number of information leaflets produced and those available in easy read format
• ensured all information leaflets, identify availability to request, in the six main languages used in Coventry (Polish, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Romanian and Tigrinya) and translated more information that are available on our webpages. 
• created ‘Contact Us’ posters [http://coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7250/adult-social-careoffer-2022] and staff calling cards
• continued to undertake scheduled community engagement events during course of the year
• continue to produce electronic newsletters [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/ASCbulletins] which members of the public are able to subscribe to

Learning, Improvement and Innovation

Using Digital Technology - Technology Enabled Care (TEC)

Sheridan, a Community Case Worker from Adult Social Care talks about how she is promoting Digital Technology in her work with people.

The use of digital technology in Coventry has been beneficial for lots of people I have worked with. I was working with Betty, as her balance was becoming an issue. Betty is a 99-year-old woman who lives independently in her own home and she needed a morning call to support her including putting on a back brace. Betty also expressed her nervousness about living alone, saying ‘I feel vulnerable’.

When visiting Betty, I took with me the copy of the DigiTech catalogue, we sat together and discussed each device in length, we agreed I would refer her for the Careium Falls Wearable (a wearable personal alarm in case of falls) and an Alcove Video Doorbell paired with the Alexa Show (a smart speaker with a screen), this would enable her to identify who is at her front door.

The equipment was ordered and after 4 weeks had passed I visited Betty again to check in on how she was getting on with the equipment.

Betty said:

"I am pleased about the pendant alarm, it has given me more confidence with moving around my home with the knowledge if I were to fall it will detect it and call for help. I am now using my back garden a lot which is of great pleasure to me, I like to potter around in the sun without fear, earlier this year I fell and had to scream for a neighbour to call for help, now although I am still being careful, I feel better."

"Before you told me about the alarm, I felt scared to move around, I had lost my confidence and felt trapped in my own home."

"The doorbell was a little difficult to get my head around but once I was shown a few times I feel like I have gotten the hang of it! Which is amazing for a 99-year old!"

The use of the smart home devices and the wearable device has improved Betty’s quality of life and safety.

Since October 2024 Coventry City Council (CCC) has been engaged in a regional Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Pilot, funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, in partnership with Birmingham City Council, Wolverhampton City combined authority.

TEC refers to the delivery of care that meets identified social care needs with the assistance of technology. For example, the provision of remote care-calls through video calls, the use of smart technologies to provide prompts and reminders around self-care or the use of geo-tracking wearables that allow access to a community with remote monitoring. 

Louise Hay, Head of Business Systems and Improvement said:

"This programme of innovation has given huge opportunities for learning how TEC can support people to live independently and safely. Over 200 people have benefited from over 800 pieces of technology and the impact of this on quality of life has been significant. We will continue to explore opportunities to incorporate the use of TEC into the care and support provided to adults in the city and build on the learning and development achieved to date.”

Accelerated Reform Fund Projects for Adult Social Care

In March 2024 as part of a national initiative to drive innovation in Adult Social Care Coventry and Warwickshire received 2-year funding from the Department of Health and Social Care, called the ‘Accelerated Reform Fund’.

The main aim of the Accelerated Reform Fund is to address barriers to adopting innovative practice and build capacity and capability in Adult Social Care, there is a particular focus on supporting carers as part of the initiative.

The project involved working across the Integrated Care Board with our colleagues in Warwickshire, deciding upon the projects we wanted to explore based on what people have told us and feedback we have received.

In Coventry we’ve launched the following projects;

Bridgit Care

Bridgit Care is an online, easy to navigate self-help tool for carers, that can be accessed day and night. The tool has helpful modules that help people navigate different areas of support specific to their caring role and populates a self-help plan.

Shared Lives – Supporting Recruitment

There are many wonderful examples of how Shared Lives makes a difference to people’s lives but recruiting new Shared Lives can prove challenging. We used funding to develop the marketing of Shared Lives and look at how we recruit and get Shared Lives carers on board. This included making a short video, launching a bus back campaign and using radio adverts.

My Time

My Time is a project run by a Liverpool based charity called Local Solutions, they work with hoteliers, leisure services and local businesses to secure a range of different breaks for carers to access. A range of breaks are now available from local businesses, including Coombe Abbey, the Slug and Lettuce and Historic Coventry.

Carer Support at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW)

Through our feedback from carers we recognised how important the right support was whilst in hospital, preparing for a discharge and making sure there is good access to information and advice. The additional funding has meant we are able to fund an additional carer hospital liaison worker, to support and identify carers whilst in hospital. We hope this will mean earlier access to support and better identification of carers in the hospital setting.

What next?

All projects are now live and Coventry residents will now benefit from the support. We will continue to work our Accelerated Reform Partners to evaluate the impact that they have on people’s lives.

Co-production and Engagement

Improvement through continuous learning is embedded within how we do our work but one of most important ways we learn is by listening to, involving and engaging with those who have ‘lived experience’. 

In Adult Social Care we place adults and their carers at the heart of everything we do. We are committed to ensuring that people with care and support needs and their carers can be equal partners in planning and shaping future developments in Adult Social Care. But we know we’ve still got some way to go with this.

Behind the scenes we’ve been continuing working hard to try and develop our own approach to co-production and ensuring that we are involving people in the development of services, something as simple as ensuring we get feedback along people’s journeys, to being part of recruitment decisions to helping shape and create new services.

We have developed the ‘Engagement, Involvement and Co-production Our Approach’ [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/39258/adult-social-careengagement-involvementand-co-production-it-s-ourapproach], a document which outlines our key commitments to making this happen. We want to ensure that the involvement of people with care and support needs and carers becomes standard practice. 

We have been looking at any barriers that might exist to involvement and have produced a policy for reimbursement of expenses and fees for participation.

We are also continuing to seek feedback from people accessing our support via our Experience Survey [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/28046/get_involved_in_improving_adult_social_care] which also asks if people want to receive more information about Adult Social Care and ‘get involved’, growing the group of people we can engage with. It also asks people for one change or improvement they would like to make to the support they have or are receiving. We read all of these, contact people if they need support and take action on any themes. 

In 2024 we also introduced 2 new experience surveys;

• a Safeguarding Experience Survey, capturing people’s experience of Section 42 safeguarding enquiries
• a Direct Payments Experience Survey, seeking to find out more about what it’s like receiving a Direct Payment in Coventry, what’s working well. things people may like to see changed and to get involved in a peer group. A Direct Payment Strategy has been informed by feedback from people receiving Direct Payments including direct quotes from people identifying how Direct Payments help and what difference they make

We want to continue to grow the number people who want to be involved and hear their views. We produce regular bulletins or newsletters for people interested in Adult Social Care which includes updates on developments and details of forthcoming opportunities for getting involved. 2,108 people are receiving our Adults Bulletin [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/7329/adult-socialcare-bulletins] and 4,334 people our Carers bulletin. [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/4473/e-bulletins_for_carers] If you want to be added to our newsletter circulation list, please let us know, by subscribing yourself.

Where we have acted on feedback, will share this on our webpages via a ‘We asked, you said, we did’ [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/health-social-care-say-getting-involved/said] page.

We have a live demographic dashboard which tells us who is accessing adult social care compared to the city population and we are using this information to inform our approaches. We have updated all our public information which identifies that they can be made available in 6 main languages used in Coventry – Polish, Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic, Romanian and Tigrinya.

We have also produced our safeguarding posters in these languages alongside specific information about safeguarding in Arabic as this is one of the most requested languages for translation and more recently our Direct Payments leaflets into Punjabi, Urdu, Arabic and Gujarati. [http://coventry.gov.uk/ASCpublicinformation] 

In 2022 we started to hold open days, inviting people to come and hear more about Adult Social Care and get involved. We have continued to hold events through 2024 to 2025. This year we’ve held 2 sessions at the Dementia Hub and a transitions session at the Cheylesmore Community Hub.

We have also attended partnership sessions this year this included a session at the Muslim Resource Centre (Health and Wellbeing Event), Penderels Direct Payment Event and events during carers week. Also ‘Pop ups’ as we like to call them. The pop-up events help us speak to a wide range of people, people that might not be receiving Adults Social Care, might not have heard of our support and people who self-fund their care.

We've made sure we have a wide range of staff, such as occupational therapists, social workers and always a popular one, the financial assessments team.

What’s next and looking forward

We recognise that there is always more to do, and that learning is an ongoing process. We want to get people more involved in the commissioning of services and also ensure information gets to those who need it most.

 

Adult Social Care Stakeholder Group

The work of Adult Social Care continues to be supported by our Stakeholder Group, who meet regularly to discuss any updates and influence the improvements of the service. The group is made up of Coventry residents who are experienced in how services work.

June the groups co-chair said: "The stakeholder group is a friendly group of people that live in Coventry with different experiences of health and social care, whether from their own personal experience or the people who they support and care for, there are also voluntary groups and other professionals that attend. We meet at alternate months to discuss any updates and be given an opportunity where we can influence the improvement of services. As I am someone who has worked in the community and Hospital for many years, I also care for several people, I know how important it is that you get the right information at the right time, as I attend the group, I can bring my experience and knowledge to improve services for the people of Coventry". 

To find out more about Getting Involved you can access the webpage. [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/health-social-care-say-getting-involved]

Performance highlights

On a yearly basis Adult Social Care undertake a survey of the experience of adults in receipt of support and every other year we undertake a survey of the experience of carers. These infographics shows our performance. This information helps us set our future priorities and identify any areas for improvement.

Understanding the views and experiences of Adult Social Care Carers 2023 to 2024

A random selection of people with caring responsibilities who received an assessment or review within 12-month period prior to 1 September 2023. 

• 300 people gave feedback during October to November 2023
• survey respondents age between 25 and 96, average was 65
• 33% male 67% female
• of the people who were being cared for, 41% had physical support 17% memory and cognition 25% unknown and the rest included learning difficulties, mental health issues and other needs

Enhancing the quality of life for people with caring responsibilities:

• Carers reported quality of life 7 out of 12
• 26% said they had almost as much social contact as they would like

Ensuring that people with caring responsibilities have a positive experience of care services and support:

• 33% of carers said they were satisfied with the support they received
• 60% said it was fairly easy to find information about services

Ensuring people with caring responsibilities are included and consulted in discussions about the person they care for:

• 69% of people with caring responsibilities felt included or consulted in discussions about the person they care for

The next Carers' Survey will be undertaken at end of 2025. 

Understanding the views and experiences of Adult Social Care People with care and support needs 2024 to 2025

About the survey

Respondents were people who were accessing long term support as 1 December 2024:

• 740 gave feedback during January and March 2025
• survey respondents aged between 18 and 103. Average age 66
• 45% male 55% female
• of the people who were supported 52% had physical support, 30% learning difficulties, the rest had other needs

Enhancing the quality of life for people with care and support needs:

• people scored their quality of life 19.6 out of 24
• over said they had as 49% much social contact as they would like
• almost 8 out of 10 people said they have enough control over their daily life

Ensuring that people have a positive experience of care services and support:

• over 7 out of 10 people said they were satisfied with the social care and support they received
• 73 said it was fairly easy to find % information and advice about support, services or benefits

Ensuring that people who are vulnerable feel safe and protected from harm:

• 72 said services received % helped them feel safe

Section 75 Partnership Agreement

We have a Section 75 Partnership Agreement with Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust (CWPT) for the delivery of integrated mental health services. This agreement, dating back to 2014, is renewed every 3 years. As part of the agreement and each year the Partnership Trust produces its own Annual Report of the performance of the partnership arrangements to provide integrated mental health services in Coventry and Warwickshire. This report when published will be available via the Trusts website.  [http://www.covwarkpt.nhs.uk]

Complaints and Compliments

Everyone has the right to receive a good level of service and we want people to get the best possible support from us. Listening to people's views helps us to put things right and improve our services for the future, so comments, compliments, complaints and suggestions [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/health-social-care-say-getting-involved/adult-social-care-comments-compliments-complaints/3] are important and always welcome. 

In 2024 to 2025 we received 85 statutory complaints but over 2 times more compliments (185).

"I want to thank you all for everything you did for mum; you put the joy in her day and I know this because she'd get off the bus and be humming coming up her stairs and her mood would be so much lighter." (Staff at Gilbert Richards Centre)"

"Very big thanks for coming out to see Mum and myself yesterday to talk through the Telecare system and then coming back in the same day to install and get things up and running. Thank you for your patience and working through those moments and chatting with Mum which made a real difference as she seemed settled and a lot more on board when I was leaving last night with further reassurance from myself." (Telecare)

Adult Social Care had 10 Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Ombudsman complaints [https://www.lgo.org.uk/your-councils-performance] in total, 4 being upheld. 

Each year the Council produces an Adult Social Care and Local Government Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) Complaints Annual Report [http://coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/781/adult_social_care_ complaints_and_representations_annual_reports]which is approved by the Cabinet Member for Adult Services. This provides an overview of our response to complaints and learning.

In 2024, our complaints leaflet [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/adult-social-care-strategies-policies-plans/adult-social-care-public-information] was updated, identifying its availability in other languages and easy-to-read leaflet has been developed. 

Celebrating our strengths

Awards and good news

Organisational Health Check 2024 to 2025

In Adult Social Care we have a long-standing commitment to seeking feedback from staff and undertake an Organisational Health check approximately every 2 years. The results are published on the Council's Adult Social Care public webpages. This commenced in 2017 to 2018.

Throughout all the Organisational Health Checks undertaken, response analysis has shown we have consistently had positive responses to our professional development opportunities, support received and positive working cultures.

In 2024 to 2025, responses included:

• 84% of staff agree there are relevant Continued Professional Development opportunities
• 84% get regular feedback/updates from managers
• 95% know and recognise partly or all of Adult Social Care Management Team
• 79% feel able to raise concerns with managers
• 89% feel able to raise concerns about workloads
• 89% feel have sufficient autonomy to practice creatively with service users

Angela's career journey in Adult Social Care

I started working at Eric Williams House (internal care home provider for people with dementia) in 2017 on a relief contract, this swiftly became a full-time support worker position and progressed to their first Activities Co-ordinator role.

Whilst I enjoyed my time with the residents and developing the role at Eric Williams House, I became aware that I wanted to develop my skills and my knowledge further. Support work had been my life since the age of 16 and I have adapted my work to look after my family and raise my children. They soon became of an age where I could start to think about my career and how I could move this forward.

I initially applied for the Community Case Worker (CCW) and was offered a job as a CCW in the Intake Team in Adult Social Care.

I have been with the team for coming up to three years now, the team are very supportive as are the team leaders and managers. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges that we face and the diversity of the work that we see in the Intake Team. I enjoy learning from my more experienced peers and social workers and finding solutions to what can be challenging situations for the people that we are supporting.

I also have a caring role at home for my son who is autistic and my mother-in-law who is 84. When I feel that the time is right, I would like to consider progressing further with a social work degree. Adult Social Care is very supportive of career progression and provide these opportunities for those who wish to progress further.

Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) Annual Report 2024 to 2025

We have produced our first Annual Report which we hope will aim to increase understanding of the role by providing information about what Approved Mental Health Professionals are, what we do and our legal requirements. This is a report based on Mental Health Act assessments undertaken by Coventry Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) during the year 2024 to 2025.

Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) are registered professionals (social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, or psychologists) who have undertaken additional training. AMHPs are (amongst other duties) responsible for setting up and coordinating assessments under the Mental Health Act and, if necessary, making applications to detain (“section”) people in hospital for assessment and treatment of their mental health needs.

The report will be published on our Adult Social Care webpages.  [http://coventry.gov.uk/adult-social-care-strategies-policies-plans]

Social Work Degree Level Apprenticeship - third cohort graduates!

Over the recent years, to meet the increased demand in social care, the routes to becoming a qualified Social Worker has increased and varied. One of these is the Social Work Degree Level Apprenticeship, this is a 3-year course, and the focus is on both academic and practice development. In 2019 Coventry Adults and Children enrolled their first cohort of apprentices at Coventry University and have since continued to offer and support this opportunity.

In 2024 we had 1 Adult Social Care apprentice graduate, Joanne Unsworth, who was in the last cohort at the Coventry University. We currently have 6 apprentices who completed the SW Degree Apprenticeship, seven currently on the course at Warwick University and 4 awaiting to undertake a course in September 2025. 

Joanne said:

"The Apprenticeship Degree enabled me to build on my existing skills whilst developing them through academic study and bringing theory into practice. It (my graduation) was a truly fantastic day and I feel honoured to have been given the opportunity to complete my degree through the Apprentice route. Without the support from Coventry I would never have had the chance to study and achieve a Degree.”

We are also pleased to be supporting the Occupational Therapy Degree Level Apprenticeship with 3 members of staff undertaking the degree.

Adults Services wellbeing event

Adult Services held a 4th wellbeing event in 2025, and this year changed from a week to a month to allow as many staff as possible to engage and benefit. 

The month was organised as an opportunity to reflect on our own wellbeing and perhaps learn some new ways of looking after ourselves and our health. It was in recognition of the hard work, commitment and efforts staff put into their job. This was also a brilliant way of showing appreciation and value, by focusing an entire month on the importance of their wellbeing.

There were a variety of sessions on offer which included virtual sessions focusing on learning new skills, boosting well-being and how to prevent burnout. Community Care Inform and Care Knowledge shared a host of well-being tools, research and tips on maintaining good physical and mental health. There were also appointment-based sessions for nutrition and blood pressure/ cholesterol levels. The event was well received, and the plan is for this to be an ongoing annual staff event, seeking feedback from staff on how future events will be organised. 

Principal Social Worker Annual Report

Most areas have a Principal Social Worker for Adults and Children’s, supported by national and regional networks. The Care Act 2014 says local authorities should make arrangements to have a ‘qualified and registered social work professional practice lead’ in place. In support of ensuring visibility for the role and celebrating achievements, our Adult's Principal Social Worker, Andrew Errington, has produced a 6th annual report. [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/5650/adults_principal_social_worker_annual_reports]

Performance matters

Our successes and delivering on improvements - updates from 2024 to 2025

Since the last Self-Assessment and Annual report were published, Coventry’s Adult Social Care services have made significant strides in enhancing support for individuals and communities. This provides a brief summary of some our key successes and improvements from 2024 to 2025. 

Supporting hospital discharge and increasing independence through our Improving Lives Programme

Our Improving Lives approach, delivered with NHS partners was an ambitious programme to implement community led discharge through integrated teams of health and social care professionals who would focus on getting people back home with the maximum degree of independence. The programme trialled early in 2024 and by July 2024 we achieved city-wide roll out of our Community Integrated Teams.

Enhancing support to unpaid carers

We continued the delivery of our carers action plan. In 2024 to 2025 we further developed our support to unpaid carers in Coventry as highlighted in the Annual Report.

Annual Reviews of care and support plans

During 2024 to 2025 we reached a performance of 66.4% for completion of annual reviews. This is marked increase on the previous 3 years, improving our review performance and assurance that we are meeting the care and support needs of people in Coventry in a timely and appropriate manner.

Responding to people when they first make contact

Following a review of our early help team approach, we have enhanced our "waiting well" offer to ensure robust oversight for individuals seeking support. This encompasses those requiring assessments or reassessments, equipment provision, or outreach services such as hoarding support. Our Occupational Therapy service has introduced dedicated clinics to address the increasing demand for support with tasks like bathing and navigating stairs. These clinics provide an accessible option for individuals to receive assistance promptly, circumventing the need to wait for an individual visit from an Occupational Therapist.

Developing our Direct Payment offer

We have engaged on and implemented a new Direct Payments strategy [http://coventry.gov.uk/downloads/file/44404/asc-directpayment-strategy] which clearly sets out how we will improve our Direct Payments offer and ensure that Direct Payments are a meaningful option for more people with care and support needs and carers 

Supporting our international recruits

We have developed effective support mechanism for both international recruits and employing providers through:

• employers’ forum - The provider forum is where social care employers who employ international recruits come together to discuss issues within the sector, solve problems and share their good practice with others
• ‘Welcome to Coventry’ - Welcome sessions for International Recruits. These welcome sessions will bring together a range of organisations and partners from across the city who can provide support in legal, employment, education, and food and/or wellbeing

Using technology to enhance our support offer

We have increased our use of new technology to support the delivery of care and support services through the Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Pilot as mentions in this Annual Report and Digital Transformation Funding – Digitising of Care Records.

As part of NHS England’s Digital Transformation Strategy, Coventry City Council, in partnership with Warwickshire County Council and the Coventry and Warwickshire ICB, has led on promoting the transition from paper-based record keeping to approved, digital solutions amongst regional home care and residential providers.

Supporting our diverse communities

We have improved our capacity and capability in supporting the different communities and diversity of needs within the city through:

• Social Graces - Developing the capacity of our workforce to respond to the diverse needs of our community we have implemented an organisational wide programme of Social Graces training. This will better enable our workforce to engage confidentially with residents on issues of diversity
• Access to information - We have improved the accessibility of information through increasing the provision of easy read and translated materials. Our experience surveys are also now available in a range of communication methods enabling feedback from more diverse groups

Leadership development

As a City Council, we have invested in leadership development through the ‘Owning and Driving Performance’ Leadership Development Programme which all senior leaders from our Service Manager level to our Chief Executive are participating in. The aim of this programme is to develop the culture of the organisation to be performance and development focussed, empowering people to make a real difference for the residents we support:

"We will do everything in our power to enable people across Coventry and Warwickshire to pursue happy, healthy lives and put people at the heart of everything we do". 

Glossary

This section provides an explanation of some definitions and terms that appear throughout this document.

• ‘One Coventry’ - One Coventry is how we describe the Council’s objectives, key strategies and approaches. It includes the Council’s vision and priorities; new ways of working; and core areas of activity.
• Think Local Act Personal’s ‘Making It Real’ Framework - Making it Real is a framework to support good personalised care and support for providers, commissioners and people who access services.
• Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) - Integrated care systems (ICSs) are partnerships of organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined up health and care services, and to improve the lives of people who live and work in their area. 
• Promoting Independence - Short-term services which aim to maximise the independence of the individual. At the end of the support, ongoing care and support services will be arranged as required. 
• Short-term Support - Short term support that is intended to be time limited, with the aim of maximising the independence of the individual and reducing or eliminating their need for ongoing support by the Council.
• Safeguarding - Safeguarding is how we work with people to prevent them experiencing harm from others or sometimes themselves. It includes helping people recover when they have been abused. 
• Carer Assessment - If you care for someone, you can have an assessment to see what might help make your life easier. This is called a carer's assessment.
• No Recourse to Public Funds - A person will have no recourse to public funds when they are ‘subject to immigration control’. A person who is subject to immigration control cannot claim public funds (benefits and housing assistance), unless an exception applies.
• Paid Relevant Person Representative (PRPR) - A Paid Relevant Person Representative (PRPR) is a professional advocate appointed to represent and support individuals who are deprived of their liberty under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) when no suitable friend or family member is available.
• Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) - 'Making Safeguarding Personal' (MSP) is an approach to Safeguarding that aims to ensure that the person (adult at risk) and/or their advocate in relation to the safeguarding enquiry, are fully engaged and consulted throughout and that their wishes and views are central.
• Technology Enabled Care (TEC) - Technology Enabled Care involves using digital tools and software solutions to deliver improved health and social care services. These telecare services can support and enhance more traditional in-person services to help make care more convenient and accessible for people. 
• Co-production - When an individual influences the support and services received, or when groups of people get together to influence the way that services are designed, commissioned and delivered.
• Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) - The Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) measures how well care and support services achieve the outcomes that matter most to people.
• Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) - An AMHP is approved to carry out functions under the Mental Health Act 1983. The role of the AMHP is to coordinate the assessment of individuals who are being considered for detention under the Mental Health Act 1983.
• Section 75 Partnership Agreement - These partnership agreements, legally provided by the NHS Act 2006, allow budgets to be pooled between local health and social care organisations and authorities. Resources and management structures can be integrated, and functions can be reallocated between partners.

Useful contacts

Adult Social Care and communities directory

This online directory [https://cid.coventry.gov.uk/] has all the information and advice you need in one central place, so you can find the information you need easily.

Council contacts and Mental Health services

• Adult Social Care Direct - The first point of contact for any referrals into Adult Social Care. 024 7683 3003
• Emergency out of hours (After 5pm Monday to Thursday, 4.30pm on Friday and through the weekend) - For urgent enquiries/ emergencies only outside of normal office hours. 024 7683 2222
• Main Council Customer Services - The main switchboard for Coventry City Council. 080 8583 4333
• Mental Health Access Hub - Run by Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust (CWPT), this is the first point of contact for people accessing CWPT mental health services. 080 8196 6789

Other organisations

• Age UK Coventry - Supporting adults 18+ providing information and advice, support and groups. 024 7623 1999
• Alzheimer's Society Coventry - Supporting adults with a diagnosis of dementia and their families with the provision of information and advice and group-based support. 033 3150 3456
• Carers Trust Heart of England - One-stop shop for unpaid carers of all ages. 024 7663 2972
• Coventry and Warwickshire MIND - Support for people living with a mental health condition. 024 7655 2847
• Macmillan Cancer Support - Cancer Support Service. 024 7696 6052
• SEND Information, Advice and Support Service - Providing information and advice to young people with disabilities and special educational needs. 024 7669 4307

Special thanks

Special thanks to:

• Muthu
• Alva
• Mohammed
• Mathew
• Katie
• Graham and Hazel
• Bob and Bhanu
• Lucy
• Sam
• Marion
• Gerald
• Betty
• June and our Stakeholder Group
• all care providers across the city
• the staff at Adult Social Care
• all our partners

Contact us

You can contact us about this report at getinvolved@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:getinvolved@coventry.gov.uk]

You can contact Adult Social Care Direct at ascdirect@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:ascdirect@coventry.gov.uk] or call 024 7683 3003

Next Generation Text (also known as Text Relay and TypeTalk) call 18001 024 7683 300

More information about Adult Social Care [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/adultsocialcare]

If you require this information in another language or format, please email ascdirect@coventry.gov.uk [mailto:ascdirect@coventry.gov.uk].

Previous reports

Access previous Adult Social Care Annual reports [https://www.coventry.gov.uk/downloads/download/1882/adult_social_care_local_account].