From Mike Bomford, Exeter 382173, May 24, 2007
£100 million boost for County's care
services proposed
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter
Devon
EX2 4QD
Leader of the Council:
Cllr Brian Greenslade
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AN AMBITIOUS £100 million investment in specialist care for elderly
and vulnerable people in Devon could go-ahead if the County
Council's Cabinet backs a recommendation for exclusive negotiations
with Shaw Healthcare Group for the take-over and development of
the Council's in-house residential and domiciliary care services.
Shaw Healthcare, which is jointly owned by its employees and a
national charity, is proposing a partnership with the County and
Devon's District Councils and Health Services to develop extra care
and special needs housing to enable people to continue to live
independently in the community. Shaw would also retain, modernise
and expand the great majority of the Council's residential care homes.
The aim is to meet the rising demand for care services in Devon. By
2023 there will be a 76% increase in those over the age of 85 years
old and 47.7% increase in those over the age of 65. (ONS Population
projection 2003) Those aged over 85 years require the highest level
of care from health and social care services, and the cost of caring for
someone in that age group is double the cost of caring for someone
aged between 65 and 85. The number of people with complex care
needs is also rising significantly.
Chief Executive:
Phil Norrey
Telephone:
(01392) 383262
Fax:
(01392) 382301
Email:
media@devon.gov.uk
Information Devon:
www.devon.gov.uk
Devon County Council News:
www.devon.gov.uk/media/
Fact File (2006/2007):
Devon provides "good community
leadership and value for money" The Audit Commission
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The proposals are published in a new report by Devon's Director of
Adult and Community Services, David Johnstone, which will be
discussed at the County Council's Executive's meeting at County Hall,
Exeter on Tuesday, May 29, and broadcast live on the web.
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Mr Johnstone says the scale of Shaw Healthcare's proposed
investment offers the opportunity to ensure:
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Continuity of care for all the people the County Council currently
supports.
More specialist and high dependency care services including nursing
care and support for the confused elderly.
More residential care beds and care homes with modern facilities.
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Budget £713 million
Population: 724,700.
County Councillors: 62
Next County Council elections:
May 7, 2009.
Schools: 367
Pupils: 96,500
Children looked after: 590
Adults helped to live at home:
13,500
Roads: 12,800 km (7,954
miles)
Bridges: 3,500
Residential Care: 4,500 adults
Libraries: 67 (11 mobiles)
Streetlights: 71,087
Illuminated road signs: 10,837
Recycling Centres: 19
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Continuity of employment for County Council staff and protection for their
conditions of employment.
The County Council’s in-house residential and domiciliary care services
include 26 care homes around the county. In comparison, there are 460
private, not for profit and voluntary sector care homes in Devon registered
with the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Some 90% of the County
Council’s long term residential care for older people and 70% of its
domiciliary care for older people is already commissioned from good
quality private, not for profit and voluntary sector care agencies.
Devon is one of a reducing number of local authorities to still provide inhouse care services. In response to increasing public need for specialist
care and demand for greater support for elderly people who want to live in
their own homes, the County Council has been seeking a solution which
would both ensure continuity of care for the people it looks after directly
and allow the massive investment needed to fund new care services.
District Councils and health care providers worked closely with the County
Council to establish what care services and facilities need to be provided
in Devon to meet the growing demand and last year Devon County
Council invited proposals from care providers to take over and develop its
residential services and in-house domiciliary care services.
Bids from 10 organisations were received in response to the Tender and
Shaw Healthcare Group was shortlisted following extensive evaluation
involving the County, District and City Councils, service users, carers
representatives, staff and Trade Unions.
Shaw Healthcare was established in 1986 and is 70% owned by its
employees with the remaining stake held by a national charity. It works
with local authorities across the UK to provide a range of mainstream and
specialist care services including residential, nursing and supported living
services.
Devon is well served for mainstream residential services from the private,
not for profit and voluntary sectors, and now Shaw proposes to invest
£100 million to increase the availability of complex and high need care
services, especially nursing care and care for people with dementia, which
is in short supply in Devon.
It would mean more residential beds than the County Council currently
provides and, importantly, continuity of care for the people the Council
currently looks after directly and continuity of employment for all the staff.
In addition, a planned new build of around 350 extra care housing units
would also progress the County, District and City Councils' plans to enable
people to continue to live independently in their own home.
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Shaw Healthcare's multi-million pound investment proposal would see the
majority of the existing homes being retained, expanded and modernised.
The report says that a small number of homes might eventually close as
part of the proposed investment programme to make way for the creation
of more residential beds overall for people with specialist needs across the
county, but no proposals are being made by Shaw at this stage about
individual homes.
The report emphasises that should the Executive approve Shaw
Healthcare as the preferred bidder for the Council's in-house services the
purpose of exclusive negotiations would be to thoroughly investigate
Shaw's business case before any final recommendations to County
Councillors are made.
A second bidder is also detailed in the report. The Order of St John Care
Trust (OSJ) has bid for the Council’s in-house residential services, but not
their domiciliary services.
OSJ would replace most of the Council’s residential homes with fewer but
larger homes. They would create new nursing and intermediate care
beds in specialist rehabilitation centres in key locations; develop specialist
care for people with dementia; and extra care housing units, while
reducing spaces for people with low to medium care needs. Their
proposed £40 million investment programme would require more home
closures than Shaw’s proposal.
Devon County Council took the decision last year to step up its all-party
supported modernisation programme for social care services, which was
the result of extensive consultation and research evidenced in their Best
Value Review, by becoming commissioners rather than direct providers of
social care services for adults.
The strategy aims to improve the quality of care to meet rising demand by
investing directly into the care of individuals and controlling costs by
reducing local government administrative overheads. All other South West
local authorities have already taken this decision to keep pace with local
demand.
David Johnstone, Devon County Council’s Director of Adult and
Community Services said: “Demand for social care is rising significantly
especially for people with complex care needs and we are planning ahead
for the next 30 years. That's why Devon County Council wants to work
closely with an organisation which can help Devon deliver the very best
services for our older and most vulnerable members of the community.
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“If we did nothing to address that now and carry on the way we are, we will
not keep pace with demand and people in future would not have an
adequate service. But by developing these specialist residential and
nursing services, alongside the existing care provision from the private
sector, and add to that services designed to support people in their own
homes for as long as possible, then Devon’s social services will meet the
growing demand.
”Investment on the scale we’re looking at with Shaw Healthcare would
mean continuity of care for people now and into the future, as well as
continuity of employment for our staff.”
Other local authority areas where Shaw run residential, nursing and
supported living services include West Sussex, Northamptonshire,
Herefordshire, Kent, Bath and North East Somerset and Worcestershire.
Stephanie Canham, Head of Social Services for Adults with Learning
Disabilities at Herefordshire Council, said: “Herefordshire Council chose
Shaw Healthcare as its partner to manage and develop the Councils' care
homes for older people after a rigorous evaluation process. We've found
Shaw to be a helpful and understanding partner who is managing the
agreed change of service delivery in a timely and sensitive manner.”
If Devon County Council’s Executive endorse the recommendations next
week, there begins a period of exclusive negotiations. Key areas in the
negotiations will include detailed future use of the transferred sites, how
affected staff currently employed by the Council will transfer to the
provider with their existing conditions of employment maintained, as well
as performance of contract measures and ongoing monitoring
mechanisms.
NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS:
A copy of David Johnstone’s report to the County Council’s Executive is
available at:
http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/democracycommunities/decision_making/c
ma/cma_document.htm?cmadoc=agenda_exc_20070529.html
For further information or help with interviews please contact the Media &
PR Service on 01392 382173 or 380101.
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