Hampshire County Council Rated Good for Adult Social Care

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Hampshire County Council as good for how it meets its responsibilities to provide access to adult social care and support under the Care Act 2014.

The assessment examined nine areas across four themes, including people’s needs, safeguarding, care provision, partnerships and governance. Six areas scored three out of four, while assessing people’s needs, safe pathways and transitions, and safeguarding each scored two.

CQC found that the council involved communities whose needs can be overlooked, including LGBTQ+ people, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, Asian communities and veterans. Research and direct engagement helped the authority strengthen relationships and improve how these groups accessed and received care.

The assessment also highlighted how the council used complaints to improve services, with a quarter resulting in changes to staff practices or service delivery. Unpaid carers were directly involved in redesigning support, including more flexible respite options tailored to individual needs.

CQC noted positive approaches to care planning, prevention services and support to help people maintain or regain their independence. These included a virtual wallet system allowing people receiving direct payments to access their accounts around the clock without paperwork, as well as equipment and home adaptations to help people remain safely at home.

However, the regulator identified areas requiring improvement, including waiting times for assessments and reviews, and the timeliness and communication of transitions between services. Accessibility also needed further attention, with partners raising concerns about the availability of some telephone contact numbers.

The council acknowledged delays in completing Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards assessments, which took an average of 300 days for restrictions on people’s care to be reviewed and authorised. CQC reported that improvement work had begun and had reduced delays.

CQC Director of Adult Social Care and Local Authority Assessment Mary Cridge recognised the council’s plans to improve people’s experiences and its focus on individual needs, while highlighting the need for greater consistency in assessment waiting times and service transitions. Overall, the regulator said the council’s good rating reflected its positive findings on how care was designed and delivered around people.

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