Committee : SOCIAL SERVICES, HOUSING AND BENEFITS
SELECT COMMITTEE
Date : 15 OCTOBER 2002
Title : HOME CARE
PROVISION
REPORT OF
THE STRATEGIC DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND HOUSING
1. SUMMARY/PURPOSE
1.1 To
give members the opportunity to consider the issues faced by in-house and
independent Home Care providers and the potential resultant consequences.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 Since
the introduction of the Community Care Act there has been a marked shift in the
commissioning strategy to allow for the provision of more Personal Care instead
of the previous level of Domestic Care.
This has been an ongoing process with ramifications for all service
providers in their ability to recruit and retain appropriate staff to meet the
needs of the changing service provision.
The principal reasons for this are identified in Appendix 1.
There
is a requirement for stabilising the provider market to enable service users to
be promptly discharged to their homes from hospitals and rehabilitative
units. This in turn will reduce the
risk of bed blocking and fines.
3. FINANCIAL
IMPLICATIONS
3.1
To
be determined.
4. RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1
That
the Committee note the contents of the report and sanction the setting up of a
task group to look at the full ramifications and potential solutions to the
current situation and report back to the Select Committee in January 2003.
4.2
That members of the task group undertake
visits with care staff to further improve their understanding of the service.
Contact Point : Pete Scott, Head of Direct Services
, (
3407
C WADDICOR
Strategic Director of Social Services and Housing
APPENDIX 1
SOCIAL SERVICES AND HOUSING DIRECTORATE
HOME CARE PROVISION – THE PROVIDER GROUP PERSPECTIVE
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1
This
paper outlines the issues faced by all home care provider groups.
2. DOMESTIC
CARE - HISTORICAL PROVISION
2.1
The
provision of Domestic Care allowed for a stable workforce.
2.2 Staff
were given a programme of work, which remained largely unchanged for long
periods of time.
2.3 The
requirements of the Service Users could be met by the care staff being utilised
at identified times each day.
2.4 Staff
had contracts stating that they would work, a specific number of hours per
week.
2.5
Staff
could often only work in a very small area of the Isle of Wight.
2.6
Staff
were recruited and paid as providers of Domestic Care.
3. PERSONAL
CARE - CURRENT PROVISION
3.1 It is
currently not possible to maintain a stable workforce in the Personal Care area
because of the conditions of service.
3.2
Work
programmes can vary enormously.
3.3
The
needs of the service users are often met by care staff having to attend the
same person on several occasions each day.
3.4
Staff
have contracts with unspecified hours, meaning that employers are powerless to
prevent staff declining work which could be required at unsocial times.
3.5
Staff
require transport to enable them to respond to short time inputs across a large
area.
3.6
Staff
are still paid as providers of domestic care.
4. RECRUITMENT & RETENTION OF STAFF
4.1 There
is a general inability to recruit staff to support the current needs of the
Commissioned Service.
4.2 People
no longer want to work in the social care area, being accountable for
increasingly vulnerable persons.
4.3 Staff
can earn up to 50p per hour more supporting the personal care needs of
individuals in residential settings (after 2002/03 pay award).
4.4 Persons
previously employed in the homecare sector often had no personal transport
available. There is now a requirement
for independent mobility.
4.5
From 1st January 2003, the
homecare market will fall under the scrutiny of
The National Care Standards Commission.
4.6 It is
probable that the same training requirements will be placed upon staff in the
homecare group as those, which are currently applicable to the residential
sector.
4.7 It is
equally probable that the Supervisory Process will be treated in the same
manner.
4.8 Staff
need stability in knowing that they will be employed for set patterns of work
over a period of time.
4.9 Potential
employees are unwilling to work odd unsocial hours for 7 days a week.
5. POSSIBLE
WAY FORWARD
5.1 Representatives
from provider areas should form a working group to look at ways of sharing
ideas and pooling resources for training purposes.
5.2 These
ideas could include methods of positively promoting employment in the home care
arena.
5.3 It
will also be necessary to establish a workforce profile and from that create a
workforce planning document with identified costings.