Coventry City Council will publish its 2022-23 adult social care report next week setting out the steps it is taking to improve services and listing the challenges facing social care.
The Council’s Cabinet will review the report at its Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 3 October.
The Adult Social Care Annual Report and Key Areas of Improvement 2022/23 describes the performance of adult social care and the progress made in Coventry against the priorities for the year.
It also provides case studies to illustrate how service users and carers have been supported.
Cllr Linda Bigham, Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: “The report is an opportunity for us to highlight examples of the work of adult social care, the commitment of our staff and the feedback from services users.
“We always want to improve outcomes for those who come into contact with our services and prepare ourselves for the big challenges we continue to face.
“The real experiences of people and families is vitally important to document in the report because everyone has their own very specific needs. It’s encouraging to hear positive feedback, but we know that there is lots to do to make improvements that last.”
The report highlights the increasing costs of the service and a range of issues facing the service.
In 2022/23 the Council spent £118.8m across its adult social care services, compared to £110.4m in 2021/22 with the increase largely driven by an growth in demand and complexity alongside increases to costs driven by high levels of inflation. This was resourced from additional Council investment in Adult Social Care along with grant resources received from Government.
Cllr Bigham added: “We know our costs are increasing and this is being repeated across local authorities throughout the country.
“At some time or other many of us will need to engage with the services provided – and that’s why it is so relevant. I really feel that this report gives people a helpful insight into what they can expect from the Council’s adult social care service and that of our partners.
“I’m truly grateful for everyone’s contribution to the report – especially the many people who use and come into contact with our services.”
The report explains how a continued increase in demand for Adult Social Care saw most people presenting with a combination of issues associated with mental health, wellbeing and social skills.
People also now appear to be approaching social care at a later stage in their care journey than would normally have been the case, with higher levels of need.
Unpaid carers have also seen their caring roles intensify and have been placed under continued increased pressures during 2022/23. This has had an impact on the emotional and physical health of carers across the city which again is placing demand on Adult Social Care.
Some of the challenges facing the service include:
- Increasing demand for services resulting from an ageing population. In the decade to 2029, the city should expect to have an additional 8,900 people aged over 65 and an additional 2,000 people aged over 85. This group of people are more likely to live with multiple health conditions that require support.
- Increasing numbers of adults with mental illness accessing long term support (with an additional impact due to the COVID-19 legacy).
- Increasing costs of care due to external factors including National Living Wage, increases to employer pension contributions, other inflation costs, the increased complexity of the care needs that people are experiencing.
- Challenges to maintaining sufficiency and quality of the adult social care market.
Cllr Bigham added: “Although we do face increasing pressures, I know that we have committed staff who are very passionate about what they do. I really value them.”