Despite repeated lame excuses and the same tired old promises trotted out by the Tories year-after-year, the official report out today shows social services for older people and their carers in Lincolnshire have now slipped even further behind.
Last December, Lincolnshire social services was officially named a one-star authority showing signs of improvement. The Tories blamed a change of leadership, said the report was out of date, claimed improvements were in hand and promised that this year's report would be much better.
A year on, today's report brands our social services worse than ever: one-star, but now with with uncertain prospects of improvement. Lincolnshire is now in the bottom dozen of all authorities across the country.
No council is the country gets less than one star. Every authority in the East Midlands - except Lincolnshire - gets at least two-stars.
The Portfolio Holder responsible at County Hall - Councillor Christine Talbot - had the brass neck to go on BBC Radio Lincolnshire today with the same script as last year. She blamed a change of leadership, claimed the report was out of date, said improvements were in hand and promised a better report next year.
No wonder the headline on the front page of tonight's Lincolnshire Echo is "Haven't we heard all this before?"
6 comments:
Personally I think as the Echo showed some people are very happy with the Services that they get from the Council.The problem I have with social services is that some people who work in these organisations are simply not up to the job.The problem is that you cannot do root and branch reform which is clearly what is required at this council because of the stupid contracts council officers give the staff.
I suggest the Council sack a few non performing staff immeaditly and it might wake the rest of them up.
The problem with the headline is of course this - inspectors are normally part of this Labour governments agenda and dont really measure the way end users feel but processes which are reliant on staff performance.
Shame really because the only people you as a politician should be concerned with is the end user and here you are again - cheap political point scoring...
anonymous:
This is not about cheap political points. There's been a deep rooted problem with social services in Lincolnshire for at least the past five years and it needs sorting NOW, for the sake of the people we are elected to serve.
I am deeply worried about the end users - that's why I demand the level of care enjoyed by people in almost every other area of the country.
Lincolnshire Tories have failed the vulnerable elderly and their carers year-on-year.
It's not political point scoring - after crap inspections four or five years on the trot, it's time to get the message.
I'm sick to the back teeth of Tory promises that it will get better next year - and then seeing it get worse!
They run social services in Lincolnshire - not Labour who you bizarely try to blame for having an inspection regime.
It won't wash to try to shift the blame onto the Labour Government for Lincolnshire Tory's piss poor performance -
this report shows that Lincolnshire has the poorest social services anywhere in the East Midlands.
You mention the elderly couple in the Echo tonight who show gratitude for what they receive - Tory Christine clutched the same desperately straw on radio under pressure this morning. Good for them.
What Christine - or you - didn't say was that on the same page in the Echo, two gentlemen in wheelchairs hit out at the poor services they receive.
And on the same page there is a report of a disabled woman who says she had to fight to get an initial assessment, used to receive 14 hours care and has now been told it has been reduced to half an hour a day - but no-one turned up for the past fortnight.
There's no shortage of reports in local papers across the county in recent weeks of people complaining about poor social service delivery.
If the Inspectors asked the end users their view as you suggest, we wouldn't be a lone star authority
- we'd be the only no star authority in the country.
Wake up, get real, stop blaming everyone else.
Get it sorted. NOW.
As Christine Talbot said on Look North last night these figures are only up to about nine months ago and cover a period when LCC was undergoing big changes.
I believe that time will show that Christine is right.
Its amazing how some of those complaining so much so Ive heard turn out to be in reciept of massive care packages already and even more surprising to find that many of those writing letters across the county to local papers are or have relatives who are members of the Labour Party.I wouldnt want to say there is an orchestrated campaign by Labour but then a few months before local elections you wouldnt be so cynical as to be playing politics would you??
Personally, I've never seen anything wrong in an orchestrated campaign.
Provided it is honest.
In this case, the findings seem to be well established over a period of time, so what's the problem with a campaign?
As far as I'm aware, there is no orchestrated campaign.
But thanks for the idea...
The facts speak for themselves:
Lincolnshire Adult Social Services: worst in the country.
Same Tory failure: same lame excuses.
Same Lincolnshire people being let down year after year.
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