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South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Distress caused by Monmouthshire care at home changes
New domiciliary care contracts were announced earlier this year as part of a major shake-up in which a council moved from having six firms providing care to people in their own homes to using only three providers. The revamp also saw the south of Monmouthshire split into three areas with firms awarded contracts for either Chepstow and Tintern, Caldicot or The Levels including Magor. Labour councillor Jill Bond said Caldicot, Portskewett and Sudbrook had been worst hit by the changes as Magor-based Lougher Home Care lost contracts in those areas, and is now only the provider for The Levels. She said some of society's 'most vulnerable' hadn't felt consulted over the changes and only found out their carers would change after the decision had been made. The Caldicot West End councillor told the council's social services chiefs and officers from procurement body Ardal: 'There was no representation for those people who perhaps only see a carer four times a day. 'People I've spoken to say there has been lots of distress, I'm sure that wasn't your intention but that is what happened.' Officers were appearing before a special meeting of the council's performance and overview committee to look at how contracts were awarded after the full council, in April, ordered a review due to the fallout with clients unhappy at losing carers and workers opposed to moving to new employers. At the time the procurement process began in July last year the county council had to meet 2,801 hours of care for 191 people in south Monmouthshire. It had written to those affected but only received 45 responses and Cllr Bond said many only found out when told by their carers. She said: 'They are not able to open their mail.' Portskewett Conservative Lisa Dymock said: 'Just 45 replies and only five individuals attending a focus group should have raised a red flag.' She wants the department to involve local councillors when it runs the process for moving care contracts in central Monmouthshire, later this year, and the north of the county to the new structure of block contracts. Social services director Jane Rogers said it was an 'oversight' on her part a proposed decision report on the new structure was added to the cabinet's forward planner late which could have given backbench councillors the opportunity for 'pre-decision scrutiny' before being considered by cabinet in May 2024. Ms Rogers said the council had three key objectives in moving to block contracts with one provider for each area, instead of using a wider range of firms and buying care packages on an ad hoc basis, which were to commission high quality care, to maximise cost effectiveness and to improve and standardise terms and conditions for care workers. The committee was also told contracts could be for up to eight years, with payment upfront, which the council believes will allow care agencies to offer more stable employment. Officers also outlined the procurement process including why inspection reports didn't form part of the process, which they said would penalise new entrants but firms were able, and encouraged, to provide case studies to demonstrate their experience and quality. Councillors also questioned why testimonials couldn't be provided for evaluation and Ms Rogers said legal advice would need to be taken on whether those could be included in future procurement exercises. Officials said quality and pricing were judged separately before being looked at together with a final decision made on a 60 per cent quality and 40 per cent price basis to award contracts to the 'most economically advantageous' bidder in line with legislation. The committee will provide the council's Labour-led cabinet with notes on the hearing while a wider review of the council's procurement process, also ordered by the full council, is still to be conducted.
South Wales Argus
6 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Monmouthshire council home care review to be discussed
Carers and those they support to remain in their own homes hit out at changes to contracts earlier this year which will see some providers in the south of Monmouthshire change. Due to anger at the changes the council's combined opposition , at a meetng picketed by carers and supporters including clients, forced a review of the contract process and how decisions were made. County councillors will consider a report giving an overview of the process, and lessons already learnt, at a special scrutiny meeting on Wednesday, July 9. The Labour-led council said it retendered domiciliary care contracts as part of a revamp of how care at home is provided and to try better manage costs as well as provide common employment terms for care workers. It divided the south of the county into three areas; Chepstow town and rural, Caldicot town and The Levels and rural with firms awarded one area each as it wanted to move away from buying care packages on an ad-hoc basis. Magor-based Lougher Home Care, which had operated across the area, was awarded the The Levels and rural area which meant it would no longer operate in Caldicot and Chepstow and clients would be allocated new providers. Under the contracts staff are able to transfer with existing terms and conditions protected but many working for Lougher said they didn't want to join either Radis Community Care, that holds the Chepstow contracts, or Care Quality Services that will operate in Calidicot and would likely look for alternative employment outside of care. The council's Conservative opposition also said the changes had resulted in a locally based firm losing contracts to national firms and questioned if the council's procurement process disadvantaged small businesses. No formal challenges to the contract decisions were made under the procurement process by any of the 13 bidders. The council's performance and overview scrutiny committee will consider the report by social services' commissioning manager, Ceri York, at the special meeting. Her report states when contracts were awarded 161 people were written to advising them of a change to their existing provider and 35, or 22 per cent, have since asked about direct payments which allow people to employ the carer of their choice. It also identified ways the procurement process, which was run in partnership with Ardal the body that buys services and products for Monmouthshire, Torfaen, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan councils, could be simplified and run to 'more realistic timescales'. Increased engagement with people using the service could be built into the timeline, the report has suggested, so they would have a say in how the contract process is decided, and it also identified there has been a negative impact on them. It has said earlier engagement with existing providers during the second phase of the process 'may improve cooperation and reduce anxiety'. The report states: 'A robust procurement process has been carried out overseen by Ardal Procurement to ensure that all contract and procurement legislation has been adhered to.' Contracts were awarded in March but service providers aren't due to change until August 19. In line with the full council's decision a review of the council's procurement process in general still has to be carried out.
