Adult Social Care Local Account 2024/25

Welcome to our 2024/2025 Adult Social Care Local Account. This annual report provides an overview of our progress in Adult Social Care, reflecting on the steps we have taken against our strategy and delivery plan. It is designed for residents, people who need social care support, their families and the people who provide care.

Gateshead Council has ambitions to make Gateshead a place where everyone can live well and thrive. In Adult Social Care we are transforming the way we work, shifting our focus towards helping people remain in their homes, live independently and maintain control over their own lives. We are investing in preventative approaches, personalised care, and community-based support that enables people to live with dignity and confidence in familiar surroundings.

In 2025, our Adult Social Care teams were recognised by the Care Quality Commission with a rating of Good, and it was heartening to see that inspectors picked up on our dedication to person centred care, as well as recognising the training and development of our staff so they can provide support unique to the needs of different communities.  

This document outlines how we are working to achieve our priorities, including with partners, and we hope it is clear, relevant, and useful to those who rely on our support.

Councillor John Adams

Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care
 

2023 to 2028 Making Gateshead Thrive

Our corporate vision for people in Gateshead is to build a Gateshead that is thriving, putting people at the heart of everything we do.

The corporate plan sets out our strategic approach and pledges to deliver key priorities over the next five years. Our key pledges focus on:

• Putting people at the heart of everything we do
• Tackling inequalities, so people have a fair chance
• Supporting our communities to support themselves and each other
• Investing in our economy to provide sustainable opportunities for employment, innovation and growth
• Work together for a better future of Gateshead

Our communities in Gateshead are diverse and we know that some of them face more challenges than others. In Gateshead, 31% of our residents live in the 20% most deprived areas in England.

Deprivation is closely linked to poor health outcomes and social care needs are further shaped by inequalities within Gateshead, with residents in deprived areas and experiencing fewer years good health in comparison to counterparts. At 77.4 for men, and 81.6 for women, life expectancy is lower than the England averages of 79.4 and 83.1 respectively.

Currently 80% of the population are adults, with 20.4% aged 65 and over. The overall population is expected to grow by 3% by 2047; with an ageing population it is projected that by 2047 there will be an additional 6723 people aged 65 and over, an increase of 17%, demanding more support for social care services.

• 6.5% of our adults are from ethnic minority backgrounds, with 5.4% being 15+
• 31% of our residents are living in deprived areas
• there are 1,138 people living with dementia
• there are 14,679 households in receipt of Universal Credit
• 10.1% of the population are providing unpaid care

• during 2024/25, 4,759 people have been supported by adult social care - of those, 1163 people were aged 18 to 64 and 3,596 were aged 65+
• we have 1,396 people in residential or nursing care. Of those, 1,063 are in long term residential care and 333 are in long term nursing care
• we have 268 people receiving Day Care, 431 people receiving a Direct Payment, 165 people in Supported Living and 395 people receiving Extra Care
• we have supported 359 carers
• there are 7,793 people receiving Care Call
• we have 1,516 adults receiving Homecare
• we've had 6,355 new requests for support, with 6,901 assessments completed and 3,643 safeguarding concerns raised

Our collective vision for people in Gateshead is:

"to work with our communities to enable residents to live thriving lives, be independent and individual, support themselves and each other, and access personalised quality support when they need it".

Adult social care aims to promote the wellbeing of people who draw on care and support, we also seek to prevent, reduce and delay the need for care and support, and to keep people safe from abuse or neglect. Gateshead Councils Integrated Adults and Social Care Services cater for a diverse range of needs, from long term residential care to short term care and in-house support.

Within our service we deliver a number of functions and enjoy close links with external providers and partners to deliver services and support the work we do; our key functional areas are:

• community, assessment and prevention
• safeguarding, mental health, learning disabilities and complex needs
• commissioning and integration with health
• performance, service development and business assurance

Care Quality Commission rated us as Good

"We saw multiple examples of partnership working to address challenges around deprivation and health inequalities, such as focused work to tackle the impacts that poverty and deprivation had on people's health and wellbeing, through support around income maximization and responding to specific health challenges people faced in deprived communities"

"There was a positive culture in which leaders were visible and accessible to staff and teams. Staff described feeling settled and supported during a time of transformation and change. Strategy was informed by data, feedback and was targeted. There was coherence of vision between partners and where we found shortfalls, they were already the focus of improvement activity by the local authority"

"Records we reviewed showed staff check people were happy with their support and that planned care was meeting their needs"

"There have been good outcomes achieved in improving homecare provision, with local authority data showing substantial reductions in the time people waited for homecare in the previous 12 months. The local authority was continuing to develop its approach to homecare commissioning and there were pilots underway to move forward to an outcome-focussed model."

In 2024/25 we spent £94.084m (net expenditure) on adult social care services.

Our focus for adult social care has been on managing demand, meeting the challenges of the adult social care reform, addressing workforce shortages and on improving the delivery of services. Key achievements against our service priorities are shown below.

Prevent, Reduce and Delay the need for support: Information and advice

• strengthened our offer of good and accessible advice and information
• revised our webpages and increased online accessibility
• provided more opportunities to provide feedback on our services and engage through easy access online feedback
• started the redesign of our Adult Social Care pathways focusing on prevention and early intervention
• introduction of our Gateshead Connects Pilot

Prevent, Reduce and Delay the need for support: Homefirst, promoting independence through enablement and technology

• grown and strengthened our PRIME service to offer more enablement opportunities
• worked with our local VCSE partners to maximise prevention, and develop our Community Led Support model
• worked with TEC partners to develop our TEC statement of purpose, including identifying solutions and strategies to common problems being faced by those needing our services
• developed and launched new Direct Payments Support Service

Caregivers and the Voice of People and Communities

• recommissioned our Caregivers Support service
• published our co-produced Adults Caregivers Strategy and delivery plan
• improved our online content to make information and advice relating to caregivers to make it more accessible
• co-designed our Co-production Framework  - Working Together for Change

Workforce and Commissioning

• developed our recruitment offer and workforce brand, including retention of our workforce
• signed up to the Social Care Workforce Race Equalities Standards (WRES)
• equipped our workforce with the right skills and knowledge to deliver strengths-based practice and successful enablement approaches
• continued to develop opportunities for development and career pathways
• implemented our new home care model to deliver outcome-based support closer to people and their communities
• published our All Age Autism strategy
• completed demand and need assessment for specialist and supported accommodation and published our Market Position Statement supplement
• recommissioned a number of statutory services

Prevent, reduce and delay the needs of support

Key actions are:

• to continue to Implement our community led support model
• redesign our Adult Social Care Customer Journey, focusing on preventing need and providing solutions at first point of contact
• look to co-produce and maximise access and availability of information and advice, improving navigation and easy read information
• to develop online assessment functionality, including financial assessments and care assessments
• development of a prevention and early intervention strategy
• continued work with TEC partners to develop solutions to common problems being face by those needing our services
• finalise our Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Statement of Purpose, working with partners to embed tech enabled care

When we get this right, it looks like:

• people have a positive experience when contacting Adult Social Care
• people receive support to help resolve the issues they face, emphasising what they can do for themselves and what support is available
• people are supported to recover well, and positive steps are taken to prevent care needs from developing or deteriorating
• residents will be able to access flexible health and care support, when and where they need it

Caregivers and the voice of people and communities

Key actions are:

• implement and monitor Caregivers action plan aligned to strategy
• finalise and publish a young carers strategy
• continually Improve information and advice support to Caregivers
• published our Co-production Framework - Working Together for Change
• set up our quarterly co-production steering group and establish our Co-production cafes
• embed co-production in commissioning

When we get this right, it looks like:

• we identify and support carers as early as possible
• the voice of people with lived experience is heard and we work with them in true partnership to co-produce our Adult Social Care offer
• people feel listened to and have access to local groups and community services with strong social networks
• carers from seldom heard and minority ethnic groups have improved access to support which in turn reduces their isolation
• our young carers feel seen and understood and feel confident about their futures

A skilled, confident and sustainable workforce

Key actions are:

• further development of our recruitment offer and workforce brand, including retention of our workforce
• continue to develop opportunities for development and career pathways, including health and social care workforce
• monitor and review workforce strategy action plan
• embed learning offer for non-social care/social work staff
• review of complaints and compliments process and procedures and implement learning across the service

When we get this right, it looks like:

• a well-trained and resilient workforce, the right people with the right skills to provide the best possible care and support
• career opportunities and progression at all levels, that have a range of exciting and interesting roles
• a positive and inclusive culture for staff, promoting an ethos of inclusion and diversity

Improve service availability and effectiveness

Key actions are:

• progress new extra care housing developments
• redesign and implementation of new residential care home contract
• to undertake recommissioning or realignment of contracts with VCSE organisations 
• undertake review of respite and day services provision
• implement outcomes-based commissioning approaches in all new areas of commissioning activity
• review approach to quality assurance and improvement of commissioned services
• review the Council's own Enablement and Independence Service in the context of the wider care sector in Gateshead
• develop a commissioning toolkit to support skills enhancement
• build in technology to all new frameworks to support the use of technology enabled care
• to develop a new quality pathway for contract and quality management for providers

When we get this right, it looks like:

• people more in control of their care and support, provided by staff who are connected to the communities they work in
• care delivery with providers that improves service availability and efficiency.
• residents will be able to access flexible health and care support, when and where they need it

We want to make sure adults receiving support and professionals working with Gateshead have a say in their lives and opportunity to provide feedback. These are some of their views.

The care my father received before he passed was outstanding. All the ladies who came to my parents home to care for my father were amazing not only to my father but to us his family. I cannot thank everyone involved enough. Outstanding care.

All the staff have went above and beyond what they were to do for my mam. All the staff are a credit to the service, especially MB she was excellent with my mam and to watch my mam call her a Friend and watch my mam's face light up when M arrived was priceless.

Thank you for all your support, you made this scary time fun! You took up the gauntlet when I didn't have the strength and with your help and guidance we got the best outcome for J, you are amazing at what you do.

MS thinks all the staff are great and have helped him and his wife to return to independence. While was there they were so impressed how L has a good caring attitude towards supporting M nothing was a bother always very cheerful and helpful. He would also like to thank all the staff who have attend his home as their all been very good, kind and understand and give him the time to do things for himself.

Adult Social Care have partnered with the National Development Team for Inclusion's Community Led Support network as part of a 3-year change programme to support the implementation of Community Led Support across Gateshead. 

Community Led Support brings together a network of public, private and voluntary organisations who all want to improve lives in our communities.  It is based on a set of principles and approaches that help people to achieve what matters most to them, supporting people to build upon their own skills, assets and abilities and those of their friends and families, connecting people with people and with local communities.  It is a place-based approach that recognises every community is different and there is no one size fits all response. 

Implementing Community Led Support requires the simple but challenging requirement to work in accordance with the CLS Principles:

• co production brings people and organisations together around a shared vision
• there is a focus on 'place', on community and on the 'whole' person
• people can get support and advice easily, when they need it, so that crises are avoided
• support is strengths based, building independence, control and community connections
• bureaucracy is the absolute minimum it has to be
• the culture is based on trust, empowerment and shared values within and across teams and organisations
• the system is responsive, proportionate and focussed on outcomes

The East of Gateshead was Identified as the first area to host our Gateshead Connects Pilot.  The spaces, currently based at Felling Family Hub, Christchurch and Pelaw Library provide a drop in space to allow residents to talk to community-based organisations and statutory services about their circumstances, their strengths and sources of support.  This can help residents to make changes to their life and achieve any outcomes that they have chosen.  This could include providing support with budgeting skills, employment opportunities, mental health and wellbeing support, housing, fuel poverty, carer support, community activities and independence living.

We now have 3 well established sites in the East, that will remain in place for the foreseeable future as we continue to grow and develop the approach across other parts of Gateshead.

• Felling Family Hub, Tuesday from 12.30 to 2.30pm
• Christchurch Felling, Wednesday from 10.30am to 12.30pm
• Pelaw Library, Thursday from 10.30am to 12.30pm 

In 2025, Inclusion North supported Gateshead Council in the co-design of our Adult Social Care Co-production Framework, Working Together for Change. Adult Social Care is fully committed to co-production and to listening to the voices of people with lived experience.  Co-production is about making sure people who use services have a role in designing and developing them. It is about creating an equal partnership between people who use services and those that provide them.   People are experts in their own lives. Everyone can bring unique skills, ideas and experiences to help shape and improve our services. We want to celebrate that our people and communities are creative and will fight for what's right. 

Co-Production principles:

1. People are valuable: People who use services have unique skills and experiences. They are vital contributors to change not 'service users with issues'
2. Build people up: Individuals and communities are supported to best use, grow and develop their skills and abilities
3. Promotes two way relationships: Values all people equally. Encourages professionals and people in the community to work together for more gain
4. Grows and values networks: Values personal and professional networks and supports people to create and grow them
5. Shared responsibility: Challenges the traditional boundary between professionals who deliver services and those that use them
6. Facilitating not delivering: Professionals who usually deliver services need to act as facilitators. Their role is to support people so the co-production process runs smoothly

In Gateshead, we also want co-production to be:

• every step of the way - Involving people from beginning to end
• making change happen - Acting to create positive change
• working together - Involving everyone who needs to be, to find solutions together
• constant improvement - constantly looking at what's working, what's not and making things better
• celebrating diversity - recognising that different solutions work for different people - everyone brings something to the table

We're always looking for innovative ways to improve our services, respond to change and work with and listen to the residents of Gateshead and work in partnership with other organisations to deliver the best possible results.

You may have experiences you can share with us because you have had support from adult social care services, you might be caring for someone who needs some extra help, or you might just want to tell us your ideas for how we can do things differently.

Whatever your reason, get in touch to help us to shape the future of social care - we're listening.

Contact us

People's Voice 
Gateshead Council
Gateshead Civic Centre
Regent Street
Gateshead
NE8 1HH

[email protected]

0191 433 4396