Frail and elderly affected by undersupply of Care at Home

ABOUT 100 Warrington people – mostly frail and elderly – are being affected by an undersupply of care from the borough council’s Care at Home service.

This is revealed in a report to be considered by the council’s cabinet on Monday, November 7 when councillors will be urged to approve new framework agreements with seven care providers for a period of three years.

The report will be presented to the cabinet by Cllr Paul Warburton, Warrington Borough Council lead member for statutory health and adult social care.
Part of the report – which lists the seven care providers to be offered tenders – is confidential as it contains information disclosure of which is not at present considered to be in the public interest.

Care at Home services provide essential temporary or long-term personal care to help people remain as independent as possible in their own home.
There have been plans for a re-tender and specification of the services since early 2020 but the process was paused at the outbreak of the Covid pandemic.
Currently, more than 10,500 hours of care are delivered each week in Warrington – mainly to people who are frail and older and in most cases aged between 75 and 90. Sixteen providers deliver the care – mostly across the borough with no specific geographical zones or restrictions.
Annual cost is around £12 million per year and this is expected to grow by a further 10-20 per cent in the next two years. The new tender arrangements aim to maximise efficiency by dividing the borough into three geographical zones with suppliers leading on different patches to reduce travel time and increase contact time.
The service will operate with two prices – an urban rate of £19.32 an hour and a rural rate of £20.32 per hour to encourage and support rural delivery. The number of providers has been set at seven to provide sustainable levels of business for each provider.
Cllr Warburton’s report says over the last five years, demand and supply has grown by more than 35 per cent. But supply has, in the last 12 months, not grown to match new demand.
As a result, more than 1,000 hours of undersupply of care affects about 100 people.
About 50 per cent of people waiting for Care at Home are receiving reablement support which is unable to end until care at home care can be arranged, leading to long delays in moving people out of hospital.
“There is considerable local and national evidence that highlights that access to timely Care at Home services is fundamental to ensuring that flow into and from hospital is safe and working well,” the report states.

If approved by the cabinet, the new framework contracts will commence on March 1.
The seven organisations set to provide the new-style service won through from 47 who expressed interest and 23 who had submitted tenders by the closing date.