Home care contracts to be reviewed

Home care contracts to be reviewed

West Sussex County Council and NHS West Sussex will jointly be reviewing all home care contracting requirements across the county to look at long-term needs and how best to provide the service.

At present the Council and NHS West Sussex commission more than one million domiciliary care hours per year from more than 100 external organisations, at a cost of approximately £28 million. This means that there are significant variations in prices charged and capacity issues within the market.

Deputy Cabinet Member for Adults’ Services Graham Tyler said: “West Sussex will have an increasingly elderly population over the coming years, but without additional funding to care for those who need it.

“The review of the contracts we have for home care will enable us to buy care for residents who need it at a competitive price.

“I would like to reassure residents that the quality and level of service will not be affected by these changes.”

Home care helps people with personal care needs within their home.

The County Council moved away from an in-house home care service with the launch of the Regaining Independence Support Service, providing short-term care and occupational therapy to help people remain independent in their own homes.

Home care is contracted through external organisations.

Graham added: “The County Council is in the middle of a financial review and expects to have to find a further £75 million of savings over the next three years.

“By making our home care service more efficient and effective, we aim to achieve a saving for the County Council of at least £2.5 million.”

The County Council will carry out a review to identify the total home care requirements for residents, not only for adults’ services but also children and for NHS West Sussex.

There will then be a tendering process to contract with home care providers to deliver current and future care needs. The new contracts are aimed to be in place starting from April 2011.

All residents who have home care will be kept up to date as the work progresses

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