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The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has released this year’s State of Care report, drawing on findings CQC collected throughout the year about the quality and safety of services in all areas of health and care. It makes for interesting reading. 

You can find the full report here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/publications-stateofcare-2023-2024 

Anyway, what does the report say about social care? 

• 82% of adult social care services in England were rated as Good or Outstanding overall 

• 17% of services were rated as Requires Improvement 

• 1% of services are still rated as Inadequate 

• Only 4% are rated Outstanding 

• Of the five key questions, Safe and Well-led have the poorest ratings 

• Caring was the best rated key question – 92% good and 5% outstanding 

The demand for social care is growing, especially when people leave hospital. However, the supply of care hasn’t always matched this demand.

However, there are positive points for adult social care, the report states:
“Despite the challenges described in our report, outstanding adult social care providers are putting people at the heart of all decision making. Person centred care, delivered with compassion and integrity, still makes a big difference to people’s lives.”

An Increased Focus on Dementia Care

The findings highlighted that staff levels and their skills often fall short in meeting the complex needs of individuals with dementia, especially as their condition worsens. Effective dementia care requires stimulation, social interaction, and familiarity with surroundings, which are sometimes missing. However, examples of high-quality, compassionate care can illustrate what excellent support for people living with dementia should look like. 

Important Reading for Your Service 

I encourage you to read the report to learn about the issues mentioned and the findings from the CQC. It will help you see where things can go wrong and what the CQC will be looking for in their next inspections. The report also includes many examples of improvements you can use.