Cumbria County Council response to the SSI Inspection of Mental Health Services

Today, County Councillor John Mallinson, Cabinet spokesman for Care and Social Services issued the following statement praising staff and the services they provide to people with mental health problems following the publication of a report by the Social Services Inspectorate. 

"I am pleased to receive such a positive report from the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) and would like to thank the Inspectors for their feedback on the services we provide for people of working age with mental health problems in Cumbria. One of the main functions of the SSI is to review services helping local government plan and deliver effective and efficient social care services. I therefore wish to acknowledge the time given by the inspection team, as well as all those who contributed their views to the inspection. This form of external scrutiny provides an opportunity to obtain wide-ranging views on our services. This valuable feedback provides a clear agenda to continually improve services and build on the many strengths identified in the report. 

I am delighted at the praise received from the Inspectors. The commitment and enthusiasm of staff is always apparent to me and I was particularly pleased that the Inspectors highlighted on how courteous, respectful, well-informed and reliable members of staff are. The Inspectors also identified how hard we work to involve carers and service users in the development and review of services and the impressive achievement in implementing around 90% of carers assessments. That figure now stands at 90%. Our work with partners and integrated working with Community Mental Health Teams (CMHT) was commended along with our information provision, financial practices and accountability. 

Most importantly the Inspectors recognised Cumbria County Council's commitment to deliver service improvements with Health and other partners; that most service users and carers are happy with the services we provide and that we have `promising prospects'. 

The Inspectors also identified a small number of areas for improvement and development. The report recommendations have been addressed in an Action Plan showing the steps to be taken to further develop services to people with mental health problems in Cumbria. The Action plan is presented publicly by John McMullon today in response to the SSI report findings."