A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report has revealed that some people in Dudley needing a care review could be waiting more than two years, with data showing cases up to 899 days overdue.
The report, based on information provided by Dudley Council for July 2025, found there were 1,123 people waiting for a review at that time. The median wait was 160 days overdue, while the maximum reached 899 days.
Challenges in securing timely reviews
The CQC report, published in March 2026 following an inspection of adult social care at the authority, said partners reported it could be challenging to secure a timely review when people's needs changed. It added: "Others told us that in some cases, people experienced long waits before being assessed which meant people were having longer periods of time without any social care or support."
The report also highlighted a distressing incident where a person had been waiting for a review for so long they raised a safeguarding concern, even though there was no safeguarding issue, in the hope of speeding up the process.
CQC rates service 'good' but flags concerns
Despite the waiting times, the CQC rated Dudley Council's adult social care service as 'good' overall, noting that leaders and staff were passionate and committed. The report said: "Staff were skilled, committed, felt supported in their roles and were positive about learning and development opportunities for career progression and development."
However, the watchdog identified Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) as an area needing improvement. The report explained: "Although staff were proactively reviewing risks and reprioritising cases where concerns arose, the CQC considered the arrangements overly reliant on local management oversight rather than a structured corporate process."
Progress on DoLS waiting list
Following the CQC's visit, the authority introduced changes. The dedicated DoLS team reduced the waiting list from 434 cases at inspection to 350 cases in January 2026 and further down to 165 cases in May 2026.
The report will be discussed by the council's Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee at a meeting on August 3. Councillors will be told that progress since the 2025 inspection has been 'limited', with challenges affecting performance, staff turnover and morale.
Future redesign and risks
A report for the committee, signed by Emma Matthews, Dudley's director of adult social care, outlined that many improvement areas identified by the CQC would be addressed through structural and service redesign, including the implementation of the Adult Social Care Remodel. This introduces dedicated functions for assessment, reviewing, safeguarding, hospital discharge and demand management, alongside strengthened management oversight, clearer pathways and improved governance arrangements.
The report warned: "While service continuity has been maintained to date, this is no longer sustainable without increasing risk to both service users and staff wellbeing. Failure to implement the new model presents a significant risk to compliance with statutory duties, alongside increased exposure to legal and reputational risk."
It added that while the CQC judged Dudley Adult Social Care to be delivering a good standard of service, the council's ambition is to achieve an outstanding rating at future assessments.
