A survey to help build a picture of life in Cumbria for people who need grab rails, bath seats and minor adaptations to help them live at home, has revealed a satisfaction level of over 97 per cent in some areas.
The survey, - the first national user survey around equipment and adaptations - was carried out by the county council using postal and telephone questionnaires involving around 1,000 adults. Audio and Braille versions were also available for people with sensory impairments.
The council's Adult Social Care Services arranges around 2,000 adaptations each year for the homes of older and disabled people.
The results from the survey will be used by the county council and the Department of Health to help build a clearer picture of where improvements can be made in assistance given to people who need extra support to live at home.
The survey shows that:
- 97.6 per cent of the adults surveyed said they were 'very' or 'fairly' happy with how they were treated by the council's Adult Social Care staff who discussed their needs with them
- 97.4 per cent of the people said that the equipment or adaptation had made their quality of life 'much better' or 'a little better'
- In terms of satisfaction with the equipment or adaptation, just over 82 per cent were 'extremely' or 'very satisfied' although this rises to 97.2 per cent when 'quite satisfied' is included
- Over 90 per cent of people were satisfied with the way they were shown how to use their new equipment or adaptation
The survey also highlighted some areas where improvements could be made. For example, just over 10 per cent of the adults surveyed felt there wasn't any real choice in the equipment or adaptations, or that what people wanted didn't really affect what they got.
The council's adult social care services will be looking into these areas to see what can be done to bring about improvements.
The survey also provided space for people to make other comments about the service; where the comment could be regarded as either positive or negative, 60 per cent were positive. The two main positives were praise for both the service and staff along with satisfaction with the equipment. The two main areas in the negative comments related to a delay in receiving equipment, and having to pay for services.
Councillor Bill Wearing is the county council's Cabinet member for Adult Health and Wellbeing. He said:
"We are very grateful to everyone who took part in the survey; the information we have received back really is invaluable.
"The comments and information provided have been taken very seriously and will be using them to help improve services further.
"These are the results from the first national survey on equipment and minor adaptations, and it will be repeated on a rolling programme along with surveys of other service areas, to ensure that we are continuing to provide the kind of service that people want."
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