The Care Quality Commission begins a fresh inspection of Ealing Council's adult social care today, with inspectors on site from 16 November. The council was rated requires improvement in January 2025.
The Care Quality Commission starts a new inspection of Ealing Council’s adult social care today. It is the regulator’s second assessment of the service, after it rated the council requires improvement in January 2025.
The inspection runs over two weeks, according to a council briefing published for councillors ahead of a scrutiny meeting on 17 November:
- week of 9 November: a virtual inspection week
- week of 16 November: inspectors on site in Ealing
- week of 30 November: the council expects high-level feedback from CQC
The timetable is in the council’s CQC inspection update. The covering report gives the same dates and says the panel will be told the final outcome. The full rating comes later, in a published CQC report.
What CQC found last time
CQC’s January 2025 report scored Ealing on nine quality statements, from 1 to 4. Seven scored 2. Two scored 3: partnerships and communities, and learning, improvement and innovation.
The regulator said people and their carers gave mixed feedback. Some said it was hard to get in touch with the council, and there were concerns about relying too much on online information.
What the council says has changed
The council sent CQC a self-assessment in September. It summarises it in the briefing, and these are the council’s own figures, not the regulator’s:
| Measure | At the 2024 assessment | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Social work assessment wait | 21 weeks | 6 weeks |
| Occupational therapy assessment wait | 27 weeks | 17 weeks |
| Phone call handling time | 10 minutes | 4 minutes |
| Safeguarding concerns waiting | 56% | 6% |
| Care homes rated good or outstanding by CQC | 74% | 81% |
| Home care rated good or outstanding by CQC | 76% | 84% |
The council says 87.5% of people who had reablement support returned to full independence. It also says it delivered £5 million of savings in adult social care in 2025/26.
What residents told the council
The briefing compares the national adult social care user survey for 2024/25 with early results for 2025/26. Most measures improved, but overall satisfaction did not move:
- overall satisfaction: 53% in both years
- people who feel they have control over their daily life: 60% to 66%
- people who find it easy to find information about services: 53% to 61%
- people who feel safe: 57% to 63%
- people who have as much social contact as they want: 32% to 37%
The council lists what it still has to fix. That includes making assessment times consistent across teams, finishing more reviews on time, and more support for carers and people with mental health needs, frailty or housing problems.
How inspectors hear from residents
The council says it gave CQC a sample of 30 carers and 50 people who receive care. CQC chose 15 of those people to contact, after asking their consent. During the on-site week, inspectors will also go through four areas of practice with the staff who handle those cases.
What it means for you
If you or someone you care for uses Ealing’s adult social care, you may be contacted by CQC in the next fortnight. You can also tell the regulator about your experience at any time through its give feedback on care form.
The council’s report goes to the Health and Adult Social Services Scrutiny Panel at 7pm on Tuesday 17 November, in the middle of the on-site week. The same agenda carries the Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board’s annual report for 2025/26.
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