A new Healthwatch report has highlighted serious concerns about the reliability and consistency of home care in Warrington – as the borough council prepares to make £34m of savings from adult social care – including more than 100 job losses.
The timing of the report will raise fresh questions about how Warrington Borough Council can deliver improvements to home care while simultaneously looking to reduce the cost of providing adult social care.
Healthwatch Warrington’s new Time, Trust & Care report examines the experiences of people receiving domiciliary care across the borough, drawing on survey responses, one-to-one conversations and local care data. The survey was open to all home care providers, including Warrington Borough Council providers.
And while the report contains plenty of praise for dedicated carers, it also exposes significant concerns about some of the most basic aspects of home care.
Only 32.8 per cent of respondents said carers always arrived on time, while just 38.2 per cent said carers consistently stayed for the full length of their allocated visits.
Meanwhile, 45 per cent said they were not informed when carers were running late.
Praise for carers – but serious concerns remain
The report makes clear that many residents have positive experiences of home care. Almost four out of five respondents – 79.4 per cent – described their carers as friendly, while 77.1 per cent said they were respectful. Overall, 60.2 per cent rated their care and support as good or very good.
Many respondents praised carers for their kindness, professionalism and willingness to provide emotional support as well as practical assistance.
But alongside that praise came concerns about carers arriving late, visits ending early, inconsistent staffing, poor communication and a lack of continuity.
Healthwatch says particular concerns were raised about frequent changes in carers, especially for people living with dementia, people with sensory impairments and those requiring intimate personal care.
Residents told Healthwatch that continuity was essential for building trust, dignity and confidence.
Healthwatch Warrington CEO Lydia Hughes said the organisation’s purpose was to make sure residents’ experiences were heard and used to improve services.
She said:“At Healthwatch Warrington, our role is to ensure that the voices and experiences of local people are heard and used to drive improvement.”
She said the report highlighted both positive experiences and areas where residents said improvements were needed – particularly around communication, continuity of care, punctuality and visit duration.
Crucially, Ms Hughes stressed that the report was not intended simply to attack care providers.
“Our aim is not to criticise services, but to provide an independent evidence base that supports better outcomes for people who rely on care at home.”
She added that Healthwatch was grateful to everyone who had shared their experiences and welcomed the response from Warrington Borough Council.
The organisation now says it wants to work with partners across the health and social care system to ensure the findings lead to “meaningful improvements for residents.”
£34m social care savings
The report comes as Warrington Borough Council faces an unprecedented financial challenge and is looking to make huge savings across its services.
Adult social care is at the heart of the proposed savings programme, with around £34m of savings being targeted from the service.
The council is also looking at changes to staffing, with potentially up to 100 adult social care posts at risk as part of the wider programme of cuts.
That creates an uncomfortable backdrop to the Healthwatch findings.
On the one hand, the council says it needs to fundamentally change the way adult social care is delivered to make it financially sustainable.
On the other, an independent organisation representing the voice of residents has identified problems with punctuality, communication, visit lengths and continuity which require improvement.
The council has welcomed the Healthwatch findings and says action is already underway with commissioned providers to improve punctuality, communication and continuity of care.
Healthwatch itself acknowledges that demand for domiciliary care is growing and stresses the importance of high-quality care in helping people remain independent in their own homes.
But the report inevitably raises a bigger question for councillors.
If home care already has problems with late visits, early finishes, communication and continuity – what impact will a major reduction in spending and staffing have?
For many elderly and vulnerable residents, the person arriving at their front door isn’t simply providing a service.
They may be helping them out of bed.
Preparing their food.
Administering or supporting them with medication.
Helping them wash and dress.
Or simply providing the human contact which allows them to remain living independently rather than moving into residential care.
And Healthwatch’s findings suggest that time and continuity matter.
The report does not claim that Warrington’s home care system is failing. Indeed, it pays tribute to the many carers who residents describe as kind, respectful and professional.
But it does expose a clear gap between the experience residents expect and the experience some are receiving.
And it comes at precisely the moment when the council is seeking to transform adult social care while taking millions of pounds out of its budget.
Healthwatch is calling for improvements including stronger continuity of care, better monitoring of punctuality and visit duration, improved communication standards, more staff training and supervision, stronger complaints processes and better quality assurance across providers.
Those recommendations will now have to be considered alongside the council’s financial plans.
Because for the people who depend upon home care, the issue is not simply whether the council can balance its books. It is whether it can balance the books without compromising the time, trust and dignity of the people who need its help most.
And that is a question councillors will find increasingly difficult to avoid as they consider the proposed social care savings at the forthcoming Cabinet meeting.
A fullc opy of the Healthwatc h Warrington report can be viewed HERE
