New ratings awarded to social care services in Birmingham

The latest scores for social care services in Birmingham have been released – with two services given new ratings.

The Care Quality Commission gives ratings to care providers and other organisations across England. It rates how well the service is performing against various criteria – with overall rankings ranging from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate'. The latest batch of ratings from the CQC show two providers have been rated in Birmingham in November.

• A community-based service, Bolingo Care Birmingham Branch, was rated as 'good' on November 30. The service was last inspected on September 27.
• Having been inspected on September 12, Alliance Care Ltd – another care provider – was judged as 'inadequate'. The rating was published on December 2.

The CQC gives organisations four different ratings. The worst is an 'inadequate' rating, which ordinarily results in the organisation being placed in special measures by the CQC. Social care services can also be given a less serious rating of 'requires improvement' when they are not up to standard.

At the other end of the scale, services given 'outstanding' ratings are judged to be performing exceptionally well, and a 'good' rating means the organisation is meeting expectations.