What we’re hearing about Adult Social Care February 2025
Download (PDF 382.56 KB)Summary of report content
The report summarises insights from individuals who contacted Healthwatch Surrey’s Helpdesk, attended community engagement events in February 2025.
While some positive experiences are noted, many individuals report frustration despite engaging with the appropriate services.
Key themes included:
Positive Experiences
- Some people report good experiences with social care.
- Many do not initially recognise services like hospital discharge support as part of social care.
Financial assessments & communication
- Poor communication leads to confusion over financial contributions.
- Some individuals receive care invoices without a full financial assessment.
- Vulnerable individuals are not always offered assistance in liaising with Adult Social Care.
Sudden Annual reviews with short deadlines
- Carers report receiving unexpected letters demanding financial assessment forms within a month.
Lack of Social Care Assessments at Hospital Discharge
- Citizens Advice reports cases where individuals were discharged without adequate information or support.
Difficulty in finding Personal Assistants (PAs)
- People struggle to find PAs to cover allocated hours.
- Confusion exists over whether Surrey County Council (SCC) can share agency lists.
- Differences in pay between agency carers and PAs lead to financial difficulties.
Continuing Healthcare (CHC) confusion
- Cases include CHC funding being withdrawn unexpectedly due to a change in circumstances.
- Some eligible individuals were never informed about CHC funding options.
The report makes many recommendations, summarised below:
- Ensure vulnerable individuals receive appropriate support with financial forms.
- Prevent invoices being issued before financial assessments are completed.
- Improve communication about care costs and financial responsibilities.
- Review training to ensure correct information is given about funding and payments.
- Improve awareness and accessibility of CHC funding for eligible individuals.
- Standardise and improve response times from locality teams.