Adult care

The request was successful.

Dear Northumberland County Council,

Please advise the timescale taken for the following, year by year for the last 5 years:

Time taken for a vulnerable adult from referral to adult services to being assessed for additional needs/aids.
Time taken for a vulnerable adult to actually being provided with all of their additional needed/aids.
What are the councils targets in the above 2 situations?
Number of deaths of same vulnerable adults whilst waiting for referral/provision of additional needs/aids.

Yours faithfully,

Heather Fagan

Northumberland County Council

1 Attachment

Our Ref: 3609  

Dear Enquirer,

INFORMATION REQUEST

Thank you for your request for information which will be dealt with under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 / Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and if that is the case, we
will let you know the likely charges before proceeding.

If you have any queries about this matter please contact us. Please
remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Kind regards

Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk

Northumberland County Council

1 Attachment

Our Ref: 3609   

Dear Enquirer,

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST

I refer to your Freedom of Information request in relation to Timescales -
Adult Care.

Right of Access

Section 1(1) of the Act provides any person making a request for
information to a public authority is entitled.

(a) to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds
information of the description specified in the request (which Section
1(6) of the Act designates as the "duty to confirm or deny"), and

(b) if that is the case, to have that information communicated to him.

The right is to obtain access to the information itself and not to the
document or record which contains it.

The Act creates a general right of access to information held by public
authorities subject to various exemptions.

Northumberland County Council confirms that it holds the information you
have requested, please see the following information in response.

Please advise the timescale taken for the following, year by year for the
last 5 years:

 

1.    Time taken for a vulnerable adult from referral to adult services to
being assessed for additional needs/aids.

 

We do not hold the information that would enable us to answer this
question.  The requirement to record the length of time from first contact
to completed assessment was ended in 2012/13, and we have taken the view
that this is not a meaningful way to measure the timeliness of our
response, because of the variety of different ways in which people make
contact with social care and related health services, and the variety of
forms of assessment which take place.

 

Time taken for a vulnerable adult to actually being provided with all of
their additional needed/aids.

 

We do not hold the information that would enable us to answer this
question.  The requirement to record the length of time between the
completion of a social care assessment for older people aged 65 and over
and the implementation of a care package ended in 2010/11, and we have
taken the view that this is not a useful measure, because of the variety
of reasons why there may be a gap in time between an assessment and the
care arrangements resulting from it.  There are also many cases where
urgent care arrangements are put in place before a full assessment has
been completed.

 

2.    What are the councils targets in the above 2 situations?

 

See the above answers to question 1.

 

3.    Number of deaths of same vulnerable adults whilst waiting for
referral/provision of additional needs/aids.

 

We have not been able to identify from an examination of our records any
clients who have died awaiting the start of a package of care.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with the way your request for information has been
handled, you can request an internal review by writing within 2 months
from the date of this response to the Information Governance Office:

Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
NE61 2EF

Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]

Information Commissioner

If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have a
right by Section 50 of the Act to apply to the Information Commissioner
for a decision as to whether your request has been dealt with in
accordance with the requirements of the Act at:

The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 01625 545 745
Email: [email address]

There is no charge for making an appeal.

Yours sincerely

FOI Coordinator - Adult & Community Care Services
Information Governance Office
Northumberland County Council
County Hall
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 2EF

Tel: 0345 600 6400
Email: [Northumberland County Council request email]
Web: http://www.northumberland.gov.uk