Finding information about adult social care support for an adult in Bucks

Healthwatch Bucks talked with senior adult social care staff at Buckinghamshire Council and looked at the social care feedback and signposting they responded to in 2024. They decided to look at the first stage of many people’s journey into looking for care or support for an adult – finding what’s available and how to get it. There are various ways to access this information. They agreed a mystery shopping exercise would help identify what worked well and where improvements could be made. Healthwatch wanted to share this with the people who provide these services, so they could understand people’s experiences of seeking care, often for the first time.

Seven volunteers and staff used fourteen scenarios to contact Buckinghamshire Council, Carers Bucks and Prevention Matters. Depending on which option was available, these providers were contacted by phone, chatbot and via website search. All responses were collected between 19 February and 10 March 2025.

The Buckinghamshire Council website contains helpful information, but finding your way around could take a lot of time and be confusing. It felt like there were too many pages about adult social care and no clear pathway. The online support for caregivers offered by Mobilise wasn't easy to recognise by the mystery shoppers.

The Buckinghamshire Adult Care Services Directory produced some good results, but also some poor ones. 

Mystery shoppers who called the Council were often directed to a care needs assessment or Occupational Therapy assessment. However, few mystery shoppers were also directed to other organisations for support when they phoned the council or used their website. In contrast, Carers Bucks and Prevention Matters were much more likely to recommend other local and national organisations for support, no matter how people reached out to them.

The Council’s online self-referral form has a time restriction which some users may find challenging. Carers Bucks website had a lot of helpful information and a good search engine tool, but some visitors had trouble finding what they were looking for. Prevention Matters had a simple one-page website that was easy to use. It provided helpful information when they returned your phone call or replied to your email. However, they missed chances to include links to other helpful resources about adult social care on their website.

There were several broken page links on the Council website, Carer’s Bucks website, and between Bridgit Care’s online tool and Buckinghamshire Council website.

Most calls to the Council were answered quickly. All calls to Carers Bucks were answered right away. However, when we called Prevention Matters, our calls went to voicemail, although they were all answered within 24 hours. Any emails we sent to Prevention Matters received a quick response. 

All staff, in all three organisations, were professional and polite. However, in two calls to the Council the mystery shoppers felt the person who answered the call was not friendly or understanding. 

Use of the Council chatbot could be frustrating if there was no customer service advisor available which often happened during the working day (as well as at the weekend and in the evenings). Most of the time, the chatbot would just share the phone number or website for the adult social care team or direct you to another page on the website. It didn't feel like a good way to have a detailed conversation. The Bridgit Care chatbot also struggled, not responding to two out of three questions we asked on three different occasions. 

Healthwatch occasionally came across terminology e.g. ‘Early Resolution and Safeguarding Team’ which they felt the public might not understand.

Callers to the Council were not offered information in large print or translated in other languages even when this was requested despite this being offered on the website. The possibility of immediate translation of any page on the Carers Bucks website and the Bridgit Care and Mobilise online tools was very welcome. However, this only worked on mobile phones and not on laptops.

Many people find it helpful to get support online through chatbots, tools, and websites. However, some individuals may not have access to digital devices or may not be comfortable using them. These people need to be able to get information about adult social care support by phone or possibly in person. Healthwatch found Prevention Matters (once a call or email was returned) provided good support for these people. However, when mystery shoppers called the Council, they felt like they were often directed to look at the website or fill out an online form, e.g. for a care needs assessment, instead of having their questions answered directly. Alternatives to help them were rarely suggested.

Healthwatch did not find information produced by Buckinghamshire Council about looking for adult social care support in any community location we visited. For services commissioned by Buckinghamshire Council, there were a few fliers about Prevention Matters and a lot of locations had information about Carers Bucks.