Our Managing Director, Camille sat on the panel to discuss the evolving role of local authority and commissioned home care alongside other care providers.
Camille discussed all things Abbots Care, explaining the structure of the business and on topic explaining 80% of contracts are state contracts today which is important to remember when discussing the evolution of homecare and the modernisation of contracted care. Camille brought specific attention to how local authorities/commissioners are beginning to move away from the block contract to solely framework which can be problematic for smaller providers.
She explained that “we have noticed with the newer framework of care being rolled out, providers’ rounds are becoming unutilised, and capacity is being wasted, some care staff can be waiting between calls which is not efficient for anyone’s workforce. We need to work together between providers and commissioners to make sure we have a good sustainable market”.
4,833 people were impacted by provider closer cessation of trading or contract hand backs from July-October 2022.- ADASS 2022.
Camille was then asked by Dr Jane Townson OBE if there had been any progress in evolving the role of local authority and her reply stated:
“To be honest Jane, there seems to be a number of meetings and little outcomes! We’ve undertaken many projects over the years, and we are always willing to give things a go if it helps our industry. And we have a seat at the table where we are always trying to say our piece to push the industry that bit further but there doesn’t seem to be any solid movement yet. However, I do believe we should stay positive as we do have the seat and we want to keep going.”.
Other topics covered care response services and how they play a big part in caring for the elderly community, digital care records as a priority for local authorities and sensors in care homes.
It is clear to see that there must be a partnership change for providers and commissioners but when will we see this change?
After a day of valuable insights, engaging conversations and networking, the event concluded with a celebratory drink and attendees left with lots of notes to reflect upon. Positivity echoed around the room and there was a real buzz for all things home care. The day left everyone thinking, what are the next steps to push social care further and what can we do to help?
Let’s keep watching…
