Croydon Council’s adult social care and health service knows its strengths and challenges well and has a deep understanding of the needs of the local community, a peer review has found.
Adult social care invited Local Government Association (LGA) to carry out the review as part of the council’s commitment to continuously improving services for the benefit of Croydon’s residents.
Senior staff working in adult social care at other local authorities met with 140 people across the service in November last year, to review its work and make recommendations. This included frontline workers, care service users, managers and senior leadership.
The key themes focussed on were the resident journey, assurance, strategy and improvement approach, and partnership working.
The review found the service clearly identified its strengths and challenges and plans were in place for areas of improvement through the service’s assurance programme. It found good partnership working and a ‘robust vision’ for adult social care that prioritises early intervention and prevention. This is supported by the Adult Social Care and Health Strategy 2021/25.
Areas of improvement included provision of mental health support in adult social care, and using data better to manage waiting lists and provide insight into performance and practice.
A peer review is not a statutory inspection that reports back to government, but it helps to identify which parts of the service are run well and where improvements are needed.
The LGA report was discussed and approved at Cabinet on Wednesday 15 May. It has been published in full and is available to view on the council website.
“We are always looking at ways to improve our services and make sure our residents receive the best possible care. The peer challenge was an excellent opportunity to get feedback from the Local Government Association so we can build on our strengths and focus on areas for improvement.”
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
