Wokingham Borough Council has launched a new streamlined adult social care department that will provide vulnerable adults across the borough with a more efficient and improved quality of service.
In-house
The council has brought statutory functions previously carried out by Optalis (a local authority company jointly owned with the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead) into their adult services in order to improve the quality of service and gain more control of these functions.
Previously, Optalis delivered parts of the council’s adult social care statutory service provision* with the remaining statutory services provided directly by Wokingham Borough Council and it has always been the intention to create a seamless pathway in order to deliver the best service to residents.
“We are always striving to provide the best service for all our residents, especially those who are vulnerable and as the demands on our adult services continues to increase we continue to evolve,” said Cllr Charles Margetts, executive member for health, well-being and adult social services
“Wokingham Borough Council and Optalis both have excellent, hard-working, caring staff and we thank them all for providing an excellent service, especially throughout this structural change. By improving processes and removing barriers we will be able to provide a joined up service that allows a more efficient and customer-focused practice.”
Direct control
The change has involved the transfer of about 50 staff from Optalis to WBC and mean that the council have direct control of all statutory adult social care functions. This will now allow the council to focus on improving this area and Optalis to continue to provide high quality care services. It would not require any additional money and is funded from existing budgets.
Optalis will continue to provide a large proportion of adult care services on behalf of WBC, which it has done since 2011. During that time, Optalis has consistently delivered high quality care.
The Care Quality Commission considers Optalis services to be good or outstanding. This is a fantastic achievement and is a credit to the leadership and all of the staff. It will continue to provide care and support services for Wokingham Borough residents as it does now”.
*The statutory services previously carried out by Optalis cover annual reviews for all residents receiving support, brokerage to ensure personal budgets are used in the most effective ways, some long-term support packages and services to maximise assistive technology.
