Cambridgeshire County Council is one of the top performing local authorities in the country for the way it handles first time contact from the public re Adult Social Care Services. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has just published the results of a survey of all local authorities across the country which are responsible for providing social care to people over the age of 18.

Of the 152 authorities surveyed, Cambridge was awarded a range of ‘excellent’ and ‘good’ scores and received a overall rating of four – making it one of the 25 best performing local authority adult social care organisations in the country for the way it responds to ‘first-time’ callers. The CQC inspection is an independent assessment of how well adult social care services across the country are performing when they are first contacted by the public and I am very pleased to see that Cambridgeshire County Council is rated as one of the top 25.

The CQC rating is a tribute to our staff who are the first point of contact for people that are often in distress and needing urgent help, support, services or advice. Clearly the public in Cambridgeshire are getting a high quality and professional service from the start of their involvement with Adult Social Care services in the county. The survey, carried out between December 2009 and August 2010, included an online survey of data collection by councils, a ‘mystery shopping’ exercise and an assessment of how councils ensured their contact arrangements are accessible and supportive.

The ‘first port of call’ for most people seeking Adult Social Care services in the county is the authority’s Contact Centre, Cambridgeshire Direct, which operates extended hour over six days a week. For Adult Social Care enquiries or information, contact: 0345 045 5202.