CSSIW – Looking at domiciliary care in six local authorities in Wales

Wales’ care and social services inspectorate has today published reports on home care in Carmarthenshire, Wrexham, Cardiff, Denbighshire, Monmouthshire and Swansea on its website.

The six reports – published today – are part of a wider review by Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) into domiciliary care.

The full national report is due to be published later this year.

The six reports will feed into the national report, in which inspectors will provide recommendations to those commissioning or providing services based on their findings, and to the Welsh Government on the future regulation of domiciliary care.

The national review set out to examine how the way home care services are commissioned impacts on the way agencies arrange the delivery of care in Wales.

The review involved people who use services, care workers, providers and those who commissioned services.

The review looked at the care provided by independent home care providers. It considered:

• How home care services are ‘commissioned’ and purchased by local authorities and health boards;
• How agencies organise the care provided;
• The quality of care people receive;
• The impact on the workforce, pay and conditions and the challenges they face as home care workers, and
• The quality assurance systems in place.

CSSIW wanted to understand what was working well and where arrangements should be improved.

Inspectors:

• Carried out national surveys of people receiving home care services, working in services, providing services and commissioning services
• Held a series of workshops to discuss the emerging themes
• Carried out inspections of a sample of care agencies
• Reviewed the arrangements in a small  number of councils / health boards where there are different approaches being used
• Considered previous research and studies in Wales and across the UK.

As part of the national review the inspectorate undertook 4 national surveys, 70 inspections of agencies, 6 inspections of local authorities and 10 workshops across Wales.

It received more than 280 survey responses from people using domiciliary care services and spoke to 224 people during the inspections.

It received a further 215 survey responses from care workers and spoke to 196 care workers, as well as 230 survey responses from providers, and survey responses from all 22 councils and 2 health boards.

It looked in detail at around 230 care packages and reviewed the timing of more than 2,800 calls. The full report and findings will be published later this year.

Anyone with a concern about a care service in Wales can contact CSSIW on 0300 7900 126 or email cssiw@wales.gsi.gov.uk 

Carmarthenshire Report can be downloaded here.

Swansea Report can be downloaded here.