Adult social care waiting lists - Find a freedom of information request

This request aims to gather information about the Adult Social Care (ASC) waiting list, its impact on residents, and workforce vacancies within Local Authorities. Ensuring transparency and understanding the challenges residents and the workforce face are of utmost public interest.

Request for Information on the ASC Waiting List

1.    Please provide detailed statistics on the current number of individuals on the ASC waiting list, including social workers, Carers, and OT assessments.

2.    What is the duration of the most extended wait currently on the list?

3.    What is the average waiting time for Service Users of Adult Social Care from the request for assessment to the assessment being carried out?

4.    How many people are on the waiting list?

5.    Do you use or plan to use additional support (e.g. locums, private sector organisations) to reduce the waiting list?

6.    Have you used any external organisations to reduce waiting lists in the last year, please give the name of the organisation(s) and the number of assessments completed by them.

7.    Do you have an official contract with any organisations or individuals to provide Assessments or annual reviews, and when is this due to end?

8.    If you are looking at using an external organisation to deliver assessments or annual reviews, when can you do this?

9.    Please provide the current ASC and Occupational Therapy Service Lead or equivalent contact details.

Impact on Residents

10.  What measures are being taken to mitigate the adverse effects on residents waiting for ASC services?

Mortality and Hospital Admission Data

11. How many individuals have passed away while on the waiting list for ASC services?

12. Please provide data on the number of ASC-funded clients admitted to hospitals and subsequently admitted to residential or nursing care placements.

ASC Frontline Workforce Vacancies

13. What are the current vacancies in the ASC frontline workforce?

14. Which post has been vacant for the longest time, and how long has it been?

Challenges in Filling Vacancies

15. What are the challenges and reasons for filling these vacancies within the ASC workforce?

16. Have you considered international recruitment? If yes, do you use Recruitment agencies with a global presence?

1. As at the 30/11/2023:

• Carers Assessment – One

• Needs Assessment – 111

• OT Assessment – 32

2. As at 30/11/2023:

• 89 days for a Needs Assessment

3. 15.8 days. During the period 01/04/2023 to 30/11/2023

4. See response to question 1.

5. No. There is no intention to use additional support to reduce waiting lists.

6. No. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) has not relied upon external organisations to target waiting lists.

7. No.

8. Not applicable.

9. Karen King, Interim Head of Service Social Work Teams.  Prashant Agrawal, Head of Occupational Therapy Services.

10. LCC use a risk stratification system. Each individual is contacted as this dictates.

11. Data not available.

12. During 01/04/2023 to 30/09/2023 = one.

13. Vacancy details are held across individual teams and due to new system implementation a definitive list is not available at this time.

14. Within Adult Social Care (ASC) the posts open for the longest time tend to be experienced qualified staff (Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Safeguarding Officers, with more than three years' experience).

15. Challenges are that these are hard to fill vacancies across the country in both the public and private sector, with a known skills shortage across the UK. Reasons for filling, roles become vacant to due to promotion, retirement and staff leaving the service.

16. Considered but as of yet not used.