Councillor Aspinall (Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care)introduced the item and highlighted the following key points: 

a)    There was a clear focus on continuous improvement with efforts directed at addressing challenges relating to wait times for assessments, reviews, service accessibility and sustainability of the workforce; 

b)    The improvement work built upon the Council’s self-assessment and findings from the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Adult Social Care Peer Review in January 2025, which identifiedboth strengths and areas for development; 

c)    Plymouth underwent a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectionand the experience was described as positive, with inspectors engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including staff, partners, service users and carers. Formal feedback was expected within two to three months which would further inform the Council’s improvement journey; 
 

d)    Expressed thanks to all staff across Plymouth City Council, Livewell Southwest, and care and support providers for their dedication and professionalism, particularly during the peer review and CQC inspection processes. 

Stephen Beet (Head of Adult Social Care and Retained Functions) added: 
 

e)    The improvement plan was progressing well and outlined the priority areas with targets, time scales for delivery and trajectories, monitoring of progress and management of risk. 

Andy Williams (Lead for Adult Social Care, Livewell Southwest) and Ian Lightly (Senior Manager at Livewell Southwest) added: 

f)     There had been a focus on reducing the wait times and the longest wait time for Care Assessments reduced from 500+ days to 300+ days;

                      i.        A sustainable waiting list position would be reached by 30 October 2025, with full compliance expected by 31 January 2026; 

g)    The Care Act guidance recommended reviews every 12 months,  as a minimum, and performance against this had improved by 22%, with 58.5% of individuals getting reviews within the 12 months;

                      i.        The regional benchmark was 60.7% and Plymouth was aiming to meet this by 01 November 2025;

                     ii.        A central dedicated team has been established to manage reviews; 
 

h)    Occupational Therapy (OT) OT demand was identified as a key issue in the self-assessment, peer review, and CQC inspection;

                      i.        Demand exceeded current resource capacity, prompting a review of the wider front door offer;

                     ii.        Improvements in performance data visibility have been made using System One, with reporting now available;

                    iii.        A rounded plan to address OT performance was expected by end of September 2025; 
  

i)     Waiting Well Policy  had been developed to ensure individuals on waiting lists remained safe;

                      i.        All individuals were risk assessed and prioritised accordingly;

                     ii.        Team managers maintained proactive contact with those waiting;

                    iii.        An automatic text reminder system had been implemented; 

                    iv.        Individuals were informed of how to escalate their needs if circumstances change;

                     v.        Crisis response options were available through Livewell;
  

j)     During the last 18 months, a practice improvement model had been developed which collated information to understand Adult Social Care (ASC) practice within Livewell and key elements included:  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6