All care at home services in North Ayrshire Council will be provided by its in-house team, as it announces contracts with other providers will not be renewed in the summer – a decision that has been slammed by the national organisation representing independent social care providers.

The move will end the current mixed model of in-house and outsourced care, and will affect services currently delivered by 1st Homecare, TLC Scotland and Delight Supported Living when current contracts come to an end in June.

North Ayrshire Council says the change will provide a fair approach to care provision across the region and provide long term quality and stability of provision.

The council has also committed to secure future employment for affected staff and reassured residents that disruption from the changes will be minimised.

However Scottish Care says the decision not to renew contracts with non-council providers could endanger the care and support of those in receipt of these services, while limiting the legal rights and choices of residents in the future.

The representative body says providing care in-house could cost the council more than double what it would to outsource, potentially leaving people without the support they need.

It has also warned the council that it risks denying the human rights of disabled and older people, by withdrawing the choices of care providers they will have available – a legal requirement under the Self-Directed Support (SDS) Act.

In a statement, Scottish Care said:

“The SDS Act came about after years of campaigning by disability and older people groups who were tired of a situation where there was a take it or leave it approach, where people had no choice or control over the social care and support they receive.

“Scottish Care is very concerned that these hard fought for human rights are effectively being denied by the actions of the North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership. By their actions North Ayrshire HSCP have taken a step back in time rather than a step forward. Local residents and users of services both now and in the future, urgently need the North Ayrshire HSCP to answer some fundamental questions.”

North Ayrshire Council says the majority of care provided to the more than 2,000 people in the region is already being done by the in-house team.

A spokesperson from the HSCP has told Largs & Millport News that it will discuss with each person affected by the change their options available through self-directed support.

This will include the opportunity for people to move to the underutilised SDS option 2 under the act, which allows people to choose what support they receive, but have their support budget managed by someone else – though available choices will still depend on whether providers continue to operate in the area after contracts with the HSCP end.

Councillor Margaret Johnson, integration joint board member and cabinet member for health and social care at North Ayrshire Council, said the decision to bring the care at home services back in house was ‘not taken lightly’:

“However, after careful scrutiny of the available options for the future of provision of these services it was clear that this option would allow the increased flexibility and assurance around the stability and quality of service provision that is required to provide the best possible care to service users.

“Our in-house Care at Home service was awarded a rating of ‘Very Good’ in a recent inspection by the Care Inspectorate, illustrating the high standard of care provided by the team, which we hope will go some way to reassuring anyone who may have concerns.

“We understand that this might be a worrying time for those affected and their families, and we would like to assure anyone affected by this change that the safety and wellbeing of service users is always our utmost priority and that every effort will be made to ensure minimal impact on the services they receive.”

 

Read more: Action for social care workers “can’t wait”; Doctors ‘deeply concerned' for care homes over winter;

 

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