Warrington Borough Council’s Adult Social Care Services help people who have care and support needs to live well, remain as independent as possible and stay connected to their communities.

The services we can provide or arrange include: care and support within a person's home; equipment, home adaptations and technology; or rehabilitation support for a short period of time in a residential setting; as well as support to help improve mental wellbeing. Some examples of these services are showcased in these videos.

The First Response team

The First Response team is the first point of contact for all new referrals coming into Adult Social Care, the reporting of Safeguarding Adult Concerns and the Local Authority’s duty for the provision of the AMHP service to coordinate assessments under the Mental Health Act (1983 as amended 2007).

Triaging social care referrals

The primary role of the First Response team is to triage social care referrals and to conduct assessments to establish eligibility in line with statutory requirements using the appropriate legal frameworks; Care Act 2014, Mental Health Act 1983 (as amended 2007) and Mental Capacity Act 2005. The team consists of Social Care Advisors, Care Managers (Qualified and unqualified Social Workers) an Occupational Therapy service (OT) and a dedicated Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP).

Role and responsibility

The team are responsible for ensuring all initial assessments for adults and consequent service provision meet the Council’s statutory responsibilities, including the responsibility to promote an individual’s well-being. The team has a key role in appropriately managing the demand on Adult Social Care, promoting the Information, Advice and Guidance offer, ensuring all contacts and assessments fully utilise Strengths Based Approaches, crisis resolution and short term intervention work which seek to empower individuals, carers and families to lead as independent lives as possible.

The Complex Under 65 Team

As practitioner working within the Complex Team you will have the opportunity to work with adults predominately aged 18 to 65 who have learning disabilities, mental health conditions and/or physical disabilities in the community. We also work with prison offenders, drugs/alcohol dependency and we lead on international refugee resettlement.

The Complex Team is made up of four geographic areas, South, West, East and Central. Each of these teams is supported by a Team Manager and consists of Advanced Practitioners, Social Workers, Community Care Workers and Carer Support Workers. These teams currently sit together offering a large knowledge, skill base and great opportunity for peer/colleague support.

What we do

The work involves completing assessments, support plans and reviewing packages of care under The Care Act and using a Strengths Based Approach. There is sometimes a requirement to work out of area and/or in the court arena. There is a great emphasis on Integration and we have good links with mental health services and learning disability nursing. We also work closely with the Wellbeing Service.

As a valued member of the team you would be supported with your individual case management through various approaches, including visible and approachable management team, agile working, specific training and development.

Caseloads

Warrington Complex Team caseloads tend to be lower than neighbouring authorities to ensure good quality and support outcomes for service users and staff. Weight is given to the complexity of cases rather than the number of cases held at one time. We also support by using 1st and 2nd allocated workers to share demand and responsibilities of complex and challenging cases.

A day in the life of our staff

Social Worker/Advanced practitioner

As an AP I work with a range of adults of working age, they may be living with mental illness, physical disabilities, learning disabilities, a brain injury and / or substance dependence. The focus of my role is to undertake assessments of needs and arrange for the meeting of these needs, but in doing so, also enable the person to identify their goals and identify how to support them to reach their goals. As an AP it is vital that I understand relevant legislation, such as the Care Act, Mental Health Act, Capacity Act, Children Act etc. and can apply this in practice. This knowledge is drawn on regularly through statutory assessments.

As an AP I have additional responsibilities, specifically AMHP, BIA, Social Supervisor, I am expected to carry a complex caseload, including those progressing through Court of Protection, I also provide case load supervision with colleagues, offer regular peer support and step up to position of Deputy Manager in their absence as well as authorising via Mosaic. As AP my work day can vary, from completing paperwork for the Court of Protection, carrying out an assessments under the Mental Health Act or the Care Act, to supporting a family members whose son had just died.

I participate to my team duty rota as well as AMHP duty rota, whereby I may respond to crises, offer support and advice, this is whilst needing to balance my diary, and offering support and guidance to those client on my caseload.

Social Worker

On a daily basis, as a Social Worker, I have the responsibility of caseload management, prioritising other work relating to open cases. Which include; safeguarding, money orders, transport request. As part of a team I must also be flexible in my working to cover duty and pick up any other emergency duty tasks. I need to ensure prompt and effective answering and returning of phone calls to maintain effective communication and professionalism.

Assisted Living Team (Occupational Therapy)

The Assisted Living Team consists of Adult and Paediatric Occupational Therapists, Assistant Practitioners and Community Care Workers.

What do we do?

The primary aim is to enable adults and children to reach their optimum level of independence, maintain safety, maximise quality of life and promote dignity.

We undertake assessments for all ages and work with service users who have a wide range of disabilities e.g. neurological, genetic, learning disabilities, and long term conditions associated with old age frailty, including organic mental health conditions e.g. Dementia.

Strength based holistic assessments

We use a strength based approach and undertake holistic assessments: working closely with service users /families/carers and other health /social care colleagues to enable positive outcomes.

Following assessment we provide specialist advice e.g. moving and handling, equipment, minor property adaptations, Major Adaptations (Disabled facilities Grant) and housing recommendations.

Support and mentoring

As a valued member of Assisted Living Team you will be supported with regular supervision, a manageable and proportionate caseload, a visible and approachable management team. We promote agile working such as working from home or other council offices throughout the day to improve home /work life balance.

Intermediate care at home team (reablement)

Intermediate care at home and reablement are short-term services that aim to support and encourage individuals who have experienced a change in their circumstances.

The focused approach is to become as independent as possible within their own limitations. After an assessment is completed the team can work with individuals to regain skills and build confidence. The types of support available include personal care, meal preparation, continence care, mobility, medication support.

Team structure

The service is registered with CQC and consists of a team manager, two deputy managers, administration assistants, senior reablement support workers and reablement support workers. The service is part of the wider intermediate care tier services and has access to occupational therapists, physiotherapists and nurses.

The team operates from 7am to 11pm, seven days per week. It is available for people aged 18 and over who have a Warrington GP, or pay council tax to us and have rehabilitation goals. The service is accessed via a referral thorough single point of access, hospital discharge team or first response service.

Managed care team

The managed care, older people’s team carry out a care management function working primarily with people over the age of 65 years with a range of complex needs, many with Dementia.

Workers on the team have the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge around a wide range of issues including Care Act Assessments, Court Of Protection, Safeguarding enquiries, Continuing Health Care, Best Interest Decisions and Mental Capacity Assessments.

The team cover four geographical areas in Warrington, each area having its own individual diversities, from areas of deprivation, social and housing needs, semi-rural areas and more affluent parts of the region. In addition, the South/West of the area have a significant number of care homes.

Integrated Community Team

Our Central team are piloting integrated working and are co-located with health colleagues, working together as an Integrated Community Team .This has benefits when dealing with complex cases and brings about opportunities to co-ordinate and enhance services for Warrington residents.

In return we are able to provide you with a supportive environment in which to work.   We offer a full induction programme and ongoing access to a comprehensive training and development programme.

Caseloads

Caseloads are manageable and are monitored through regular 1-1 supervision sessions and mentoring.  There are also additional opportunities for more specialised training as Best Interest Assessors, AMHPS and Practice Educators.

Mental Health Outreach Team

The Mental health outreach team is a mental health reablement service which offers both 1:1 and group interventions aimed at enabling people to improve their mental wellbeing. The team is based at New town house and provides support to adults across the Warrington area with Moderate and complex mental health needs. They aim to assist people out of secondary mental health services whilst preventing others from entering the system.

Support and therapies

The team provides short term (8-10 weeks duration) 1:1 individually tailored support packages. Using the Mental wellbeing star as an assessment and outcome tool, the service delivers none medical interventions assisting people to address practical issues impacting on their mental wellbeing. The types of support provided include: Symptom management, confidence building, anxiety management and desensitisation. Maintaining or seeking employment, home management, reducing social isolation, advice around housing, budgeting and benefits are all areas the team address supporting people both individually and in a group setting. The team accepts referrals for star support services from health and social care and works collaboratively with a wide range of organisations.

The team deliver a range of group therapies and an extensive programme of arts and wellbeing groups as part of the Creative remedies programme for Warrington residents over the age of 18.

Team structure

The team currently consists of a Team Manager, 3 x group leaders who offer strategic and supervisory support to the team. 4 x Senior Support, Time and Recovery workers who complete individual client assessments and a team of Support, Time and Recovery workers who deliver 1:1 client support. The team also contains a community engagement worker who leads the creative remedies programme.

Caseload

Typically team members will work with a small fluid caseload providing time limited support aimed at assisting the individual to achieve pre-arranged goals. In addition they would contribute to the group therapy and creative remedies programmes offering vocational and therapeutic support.

Required experience

Team members should have experience and knowledge in working in a community setting, particularly with people with mental health needs and/or experience of working with people with addictions. Staff should have excellent communication skills and should be able to engage with a wide range of people from all walks of life and a wide range of professionals from different agencies. An interest in the arts is an advantage.        

Carecall and the Sensory & Telecare Team

Carecall is Warrington Borough Council’s Community Alarm service which provides peace of mind to over 3,800 service users and their families. The service gives 24hr access to professional assistance at the press of a button. Carecall also monitors a full range of Telecare sensors that support people to remain safely and independently within their own homes.

In addition Carecall answers all incoming emergency calls to the Council during Out of Hours periods. Information is passed to Frontline workers, duty officers or contractor to ensure an appropriate, prompt service is provided to the residents of Warrington.

Support offered

The team offers support in many ways from contacting the emergency services in crisis situations to wishing Happy Birthday. Along with arranging physical help, operators offer emotional support to both service users and their families. Operators will make contact with GP’s, district nurses, social workers, family etc. on behalf of the service user.

Team structure

Our supportive team currently consists of a Team Manager, 2 x Team Leaders, 2 x Carecall Installer/Operators, 13 Operators, 3 x Assisted Living Operational Support workers, 1 x Out of Hours worker. The team are supported 24hr per day by the Team Manager or senior staff who cover a telephone on call rota.

Sensory & Telecare Team

The Sensory & Telecare team carry out assessments throughout the Warrington area, working with people of all ages. All workers on the team are skilled in assessing for assistive technology across all areas of Telecare, hearing and sight loss.

Roles and responsibilities

The team are responsible for carrying out strengths based assessments, which where appropriate, result in the installation of assistive technology to minimise risk and promote independence. The team work closely with Carecall to monitor calls raised from Telecare sensors and review where necessary.

Specialist workers

Specialist workers within the team are a Rehabilitation Officer for Visual Impairment, who offer kitchen skills training to promote independence and mobility training to enable access to the community.  There is also a Specialist Community Care worker for D/deaf who is trained to level 3 in British sign language.

Caseloads

Caseloads are manageable and monitored by regular 1-1 supervisions and mentoring.

Integrated Hospital Discharge Team (IHDT)

IHDT works in partnership with the hospital and community services to ensure the safe discharge of people from hospital where additional support is needed.

The team is part of intermediate tier services, as the majority of people requiring support will receive this through intermediate care at home or in a bed base. The aim is to help people return to the quality of life they had prior to their most recent admission.

The team

The service consists of team managers, senior practitioners, social workers, community care workers, discharge coordinators and administration assistants, mainly working from Warrington and Halton Hospital.

Support offered

The service provides a 'discharge to assess' model as described within the hospital discharge and community support operating model on the gov.uk website.

The main aim is to reduce length of stay for people in hospital and increase the number of people being discharged on the day that they no longer meet the reasons to continue to reside in an acute bed.

Urgent Community Response

Our team is made up of nurses, social workers and therapists, who work with our intermediate care service to provide ongoing support if required. We triage, assess and support people during a crisis. 

People eligible for the service are: 

  • adults aged 18 and over who live in or registered with a GP in Warrington 
  • those at risk of hospital attendance/admission 
  • people who are medically safe to be treated/cared for in a community setting
  • those in need of assessment/intervention within two hours (and are safe to wait for up to two hours)

10 October 2024