A report presented to members of the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet last week outlined a number of improvements that have been made, leading to reduced waiting times for support and greater independence for the residents of Wolverhampton.
The council says that the transformation of Adult Social Care was needed to address the rising demand for care and the complexity of need, particularly as the city recovered from Covid-19 which had a significant impact – with demand increasing by 31% over the last 5 years.
In that time, the budget for care packages has increased by £44.6 million, with a further £11 million increase approved for 2025 to 2026, making Adult Social Care the council’s highest area of spend.
As part of the transformation programme, the council has been working with IMPOWER, a sector specialist organisation that supports local government with complex change and which helped the council successfully deliver its transformation of Children’s Services in 2016.
Councillor Paula Brookfield, Cabinet Member for Adults, said: "As a council one of our key priorities is ensuring that residents who need it are able to receive high quality care – and we know from our recent budget consultation that this is a top priority for the people of Wolverhampton too.
"We are determined to ensure Adult Social Care services are the best they can possibly be, but we must also be mindful that the increase in costs which we have seen in recent years is not sustainable in the long term.
"This is why we've embarked on an ambitious programme of transformation which will ensure the service is fit for purpose, can meet current and future demands, is sustainable and is able to support people to live safely and as independently as possible."
As part of the transformation, the council has completed a series of 'test and learn' programmes which have already delivered a number of improvements, including the establishment of a new 'front door' team which has simplified pathways and ensured that people receive support in a timelier manner, reducing wait times from months to less than 5 working days in most cases.
In addition, the number of people requiring support from the locality social work teams has reduced by over half because the front door team has been able to resolve their issues.
Meanwhile, work to improve people's independence has seen a significant number of the people supported to make connections within their local area, meaning they are able to maintain their independence and get support from within their community, doing the things that are important to them, rather than having to rely on expensive long term care.
A focus on early support and connecting people to help and support at the first opportunity – sometimes while waiting for a formal assessment – has also helped prevent escalation of needs and therefore the requirement for long-term care.
The council has also been working with West Midlands 5G (WM5G) and neighbouring authorities on a trial to show how Technology Enabled Care (TEC) can transform the lives of vulnerable residents in the city — empowering independence, improving wellbeing, and delivering value for public services.
As part of the project, sensor devices and voice activated wireless technologies including fall detectors, smart speakers, smart doorbells and remote monitoring sensors are being used in people’s homes to help support individual care needs.
Work is now underway to develop an outcomes based commissioning framework for residential and nursing placements, to ensure that people who require residential or nursing care receive support that will best meet their outcomes, rather than their needs being fitted to the support on offer.
Councillor Brookfield added: "Already, the programme has delivered sustainable change and received positive feedback from staff and service users, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with IMPOWER as we continue our transformation journey."
