Reminder for those using adult social care services to take part in national survey

People who use adult social care services in Shropshire, and have been sent a letter to take part in a national survey, are being encouraged to complete it.

The annual Personal Social Services Adult Social Care Survey England (ASCS) was launched in January 2024, and runs until March 2024.

The survey, which forms part of a national programme led by NHS Digital, selects a sample of people who receive care and support services either in their own homes or in residential care. The survey asks questions about quality of life and the impact of services on health and wellbeing. The survey also includes questions about safety and access to information.

Those chosen to take part will have been sent a questionnaire by post, along with a letter explaining more about the survey and how to complete it. The correspondence also includes a freepost return envelope.

Shropshire Council will analyse the results and share them anonymously with NHS Digital, who will collate the results from all councils and publish the national results in October 2024. The results will also be published on the council’s webpage here.

Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult social care and public health, said:-

“If you received a letter in January asking you to take part in the survey, please do your best to respond. We understand that it takes a little time to complete, but we really value your feedback and want to learn more about the services that make the most difference and more about what people need.

“Some people may receive a survey most years and see that some of the questions are the same every year. Please don’t let this put you off taking part. Some questions are the same so we can measure how things are changing each year. We can see if people are more happy, or less happy, with the services they receive over time. This feedback is valuable and means we can adapt and make the changes we need to.

“Through the results of the survey we can find out more about the things that are working well, and the areas we may need to focus on to make people’s experiences of using services better.

“The survey is based mainly on tick box or multiple choice questions and is designed by NHS Digital to be as simple as possible to complete.”

The Adult Social Care Survey results for Shropshire are gathered together by NHS England, and the analysis allows Shropshire Council to see how we are performing compared to similar councils. We can learn how the experiences of people receiving social care in Shropshire may differ to people living elsewhere in England.

Help and support is at hand for those who are selected to take part. Those who may struggle to complete the survey, can contact Shropshire Council’s customer services on 0348 678 9077. Easy read, large text versions of the survey, and surveys in another language for anyone who needs a translated copy, is also available on request.

This year’s survey closes on Friday 8 March 2024 and the results are published in October each year by NHS Digital.

People can find out the results from previous years surveys here.

NHS Digital (All results)
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/personal-social-services-adult-social-care-survey

Shropshire Council (local results)
https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/information-intelligence-and-insight/insight-and-engagement/social-care-surveys/

Passionate about adult social care?

If you haven’t been chosen to part in the national Adult Social Care survey, you can still have your say about adult social care services you receive and help make a positive difference to people’s lives. Shropshire’s Making it Real advisory groups offer people the chance to discuss their concerns, experiences and views on how services can be improved.

Shropshire Making it Real are currently looking for new Experts by Experience board members. That’s someone who has lived experience of adult social care and support in Shropshire – either directly or as an unpaid carer.

To find out more, email makingitreal@shropshire.gov.uk or visit the Making it Real webpages here: https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/shropshire-choices/making-it-real-mir/