Flintshire County Council Adult Services Inspection: CIW findings published

Care Inspectorate Wales conducted an Improvement Check of Flintshire County Council's Adult Services. The inspection assessed progress across the four principles of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014: People, Prevention, Well-being and Partnership. 

The council has made progress in all areas identified at the previous inspection, but further improvement is required before practice can be considered consistent and sustainable.

What’s working well

Adult services are delivered by a committed workforce supported by visible leadership. Over 90% of the 190 practitioners surveyed reported feeling supported by managers and colleagues, with supervision provided regularly and flexible working arrangements highly valued. The Welsh language active offer is embedded across the service.

The Progression Team was highlighted as positive practice, helping people build independence and reduce reliance on formal support through proportionate assessment and positive risk-taking. The council's preventative services, including NEWCIS, reablement and telecare were also praised, with reablement approaches supporting timely hospital discharge and recovery.

Safeguarding arrangements are well-established, with strong multi-agency relationships and accessible leadership. 

Over 90% of stakeholders surveyed agreed that people are protected from abuse and neglect. 

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding (DoLS) assessments were found to be of good quality, with clear and proportionate decision-making. 

The council's collaborative work with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board on direct payment arrangements for NHS Continuing Healthcare was highlighted as effective innovation.

Areas for improvement

Care and support plans do not consistently reflect people's wishes as clear, personalised outcomes, and first-person recording remains variable. The council must strengthen recording standards to ensure plans are person-centred and outcome-focused.

Oversight of waiting lists is inconsistent across teams, and people awaiting allocation to a named practitioner may experience gaps in continuity and oversight. The council must ensure waiting lists are consistently monitored and cases appropriately prioritised.

Advocacy consideration and recording is inconsistent, with some records noting it as "not required" without clear rationale. The council must ensure advocacy is routinely considered, offered and provided where appropriate.

In safeguarding, while responses are mostly timely, procedures were not fully applied in a small number of cases where patterns of risk emerged, and Section 5 enquiries under the Wales Safeguarding Procedures were not consistently applied in very few cases. 

The DoLS backlog remains a significant pressure, and the application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 outside of DoLS is not consistently evidenced.

Workforce pressures continue to affect recording quality, timeliness of reviews and continuity of support. 

Information systems do not consistently support effective practice, though the council is working to address this ahead of implementing a new case management system. 

Carers' assessments are not consistently offered or recorded, and the council must strengthen arrangements to ensure carers' rights and needs are properly identified and addressed.

Next steps

CIW expects Flintshire County Council to act on all areas identified for improvement and will monitor progress through ongoing performance review activity. The council has also been asked to share examples of positive practice with other local authorities to support continuous improvement across Wales.