CLOSURE of residential and nursing homes in Darlington caused "serious problems", including bed-blocking and distress to residents and their relatives, a report has revealed.

The Audit Commission's joint review into Darlington Borough Council's social services department said the situation was a result of an unexpected loss of places in the residential and nursing home sector, coinciding with planned closures of the authority's homes.

"Unexpected closures have caused distress to residents and carers, left a lack of choice in residential care, increased delays in discharges from hospital, increased costs and created an uncertain environment for staff," it said.

The report also highlights a key concern that some service users were waiting too long for assessments, particularly for occupational therapy.

However, the review team found many positive things to note and described "promising prospects for future improvement" in the department, which it says serves some people well.

Overall, services have improved, particularly for people with learning disabilities, families subject to child protection procedures and children in residential care.

Conservative councillor Eric Roberts, following a 70-minute presentation and discussion of the report at a council meeting last night, said: "At the time the closure of the homes was announced, I did say then it would cause a great amount of difficulty to older people in Darlington. Sadly, that forecast has come true and that is outlined in the report."

Anne Bretherton, assistant review director, said: "A major strength of Darlington's social services is its aim to focus on the needs of users. To bolster this, the authority needs to tackle issues that, if left unchecked, could undermine improvements made so far.

"The council should pay attention to services for older people, particularly those with mental health problems; it should cut waiting times for assessments; and continue to allocate budgets in line with service priorities."

Councillor Bill Dixon, the council's cabinet member for social services, said: "The report highlights our strengths and our weaknesses.

"It sets out where we are today and where we need to be in the future, if we are to continue to be a successful and striving service."

He said that since receiving the report, the council had produced an action plan which would soon be put out to consultation with users, carers, the wider community, staff and external agencies.

At the meeting, he praised improvements staff had helped to bring about since the council became a unitary authority, adding: "Some of us are not going to be happy until we produce services that are first-class and the best in the world."

Key findings of the report

*l Information about services is getting better and is likely to improve further if properly funded.

*l Children's services practice is generally sound, with a good partnership working with all agencies, particularly police.

* There is a strong commitment to help families help themselves when problems have been identified. The use of family group conferences is becoming well-established. However, greater investment is needed to help families deal with problems at an early stage.

* Services are slowly beginning to meet the needs of families and disabled children, but access to flexible short-break care is limited.

* Waiting times for occupational therapy assessments and the provision of equipment in both adult and children's services needs to improve.

* There is under-representation in service use among ethnic minorities in Darlington, and the planned needs analysis should be progressed.

* The two best value reviews on mental health and disability services were competently managed, demonstrated generally good consultation and have led to some service changes.

* Until recently, budgets have not been well-aligned with developing service needs.