Nearly half a million people in England are stuck on social care waiting lists, with those waiting over six months for an assessment doubling from 41,000 to 85,000 between 2021 and 2023. This matters because social care waiting lists have ballooned without a clear understanding of what happens to people while they wait. The NHS has “Waiting Well” programmes that offer interim support and communication, but social care has no equivalent. Local authorities manage waiting lists in wildly different ways, and no one has systematically studied which approaches actually help people—or whether they simply make the wait feel longer. If this research succeeds, it will produce a “Waiting Well in Social Care” compact—a set of evidence-based recommendations for all 152 English local authorities. That could standardise how councils communicate with people on waiting lists, offer interim support, and collect data on who is waiting and for how long. The project also includes a conjoint analysis with 1,000 UK adults to determine exactly which aspects of the waiting experience matter most to people, so councils can prioritise what actually improves lives rather than guessing. The research is applied and policy-facing. It does not aim to eliminate waiting lists—some delays are unavoidable—but to make the waiting period less damaging and more humane.
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Background Waiting lists in social care are a critical challenge, with 470,576 individuals currently awaiting assessments, reviews, or care commencement. While 'Waiting Well' programs have been influential in NHS settings, their application in social care remains underexplored. Recent data show concerning trends, with individuals waiting longer than six months for assessments more than doubling, from 41,000 to 85,000, between November 2021 and August 2023. Aims and Objectives This project therefore has three key aims: To understand the full breadth of Local Authorities' approaches to waiting list management techniques and their underlying rationales. To examine the experiences of individuals waiting for social care needs assessments or support at different stages of the assessment pathway. To develop evidence-based recommendations for improving waiting experiences in social care. Methods The study employs a mixed-methods design across four work packages: Waiting Well Participation Network (WWPN): This network will include those with direct waiting experience in the research and include a community research stream collecting stories from the waiting list . Analysis of Local Authority approaches:. Second, WP2 will involve in-depth qualitative interviews (n=20) and a desk-based review of all 152 English Local Authorities to examine their approaches to waiting list management, communication, and interim support. Mixed method analysis of waiting experiences: WP3 combines interviews from across different points of the waiting pathway (n=30-36) and a conjoint analysis experiment with a representative sample of 1,000 UK adults, investigating the experiences and process qualities that matter most to people while waiting. Synthesis and publication of compact: WP4 will synthesise the findings into a Waiting Well in Social Care compact, providing actionable recommendations for Local Authorities and informing ongoing monitoring and data collection by professional organisations. Anticipated Impact and Dissemination This research addresses the Department of Health & Social Care priority to improve service delivery in adult social care, while developing evidence-based approaches to enhance the waiting experience when delays are unavoidable. In addition to publicly available briefings and academic publications, this includes: Improvements to the design and operation of waiting list management techniques across the participating Local Authorities and - via public briefings and co-ordination with the project partners - Local Authorities across England. The development of new monitoring protocols for future data collection, particularly with a view to standardising data collection on waiting list extent. The launch of a Waiting Well in Social Care compact, in co-ordination with the project partners.
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