Vulnerable adults - adult social care

Anyone with an apparent potential need for social services is entitled to receive a formal assessment (“Community Care Assessment”)

Social care services are those provided following a Community Care Assessment to people who meet Herefordshire’s eligibility criteria. Like most councils (79%) Herefordshire arranges social care services for adults whose needs are assessed “substantial” or “critical”.

The data below refers to services arranged and paid for by Herefordshire Council following a Community Care Assessment. Three headline indicators and messages are as follows:

• overall numbers of people helped - Herefordshire has a slightly below average level of social care provision for both people aged 18-64 and those aged 65+
• how quickly their assessment was completed - Herefordshire assessed need for new clients more quickly than average
• their satisfaction with the services - Herefordshire had an above average user satisfaction rating (19.1 out of a score of 24)

More detail is available in the RAP Return in the related resources box at the bottom of the page.  In addition, the Local Account provides an annual overview of the quality and outcome priorities for social care in Herefordshire.

The National Adult Social Care Intelligence Service (NASCIS) provides a wealth of data and an easy to use analysis tool.

A study of Herefordshire’s adult social care activity and costs from 2007 to 2011, based on information available in January 2012, showed that:

1. Herefordshire’s overall trend of activity and costs was mirrored nationally – higher costs and less activity.
2. Cost increases were linked not to more client numbers, but to more intense support and increased unit costs.
3. Herefordshire’s costs were ranked in the middle of its comparator group in the most recently available figures
4. The dynamic driving this pattern was that rising unit costs and demand at a time of resource cuts lead to tighter gate–keeping and reduced provision.
5. The increased emphasis on supporting people in their own homes and delaying admissions to institutional care was reflected in the overall decline in both residential and nursing care since 2007-8, although this trend showed signs of reversing in 2010-11 for the older client group.
6. In the key area of homecare, while the number of people helped during the course of each year had decreased, the hours of care delivered overall and to each person had increased.
7. This means that while the cost per hour of homecare had been reduced, the cost per person per week has increased to reflect the greater number of hours provided.
8. The number of people in receipt of personal budgets was increasing.

More detail is available in the social care activity and cost trends 2007-11 report in the related resources box at the bottom of the page.

Note: The comparator councils are those identified by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants (CIPFA) as the most appropriate for comparison.

Last updated: Wednesday, April 25, 2018