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RESOLVED: that
Cabinet
a)   
Approved the procurement and implementation of a
framework for the purchasing of additional capacity of reablement
home care services, to be introduced from 18 October
2023.
b)   
Approved the duration of the framework to be 2 years
with an optional break at the end of year 1 and an inclusive option
to extend for a further period of up to 12 months; resulting in a
framework for a maximum duration of 3 years.
c)   
Approved the commencement of a competitive
procurement process.
d)   
Approved the delegation of authority to the
Executive Director for People Services in consultation with the
Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health to take all
operational decisions necessary to implement the above
resolutions.
 
REASONS RESOLVED:
·        
The Care Act 2014 places a statutory duty on WNC to
provide care and support to people that have assessed and eligible
social care needs
·        
The Council’s strategic objective, through the
existing Adult Social Care Transformation Programme, is to support
people to live independently within the community for a long as
possible.
·        
The primary aim of the new arrangements will be to
improve the customer experience of commissioned reablement home
care by ensuring the timely availability of quality care throughout
the West Northamptonshire area.
·        
The competitive procurement process will ensure the
Council is compliant with the Public Contract Regulations 015 and
WNC’s Contract Procedure Rules.
·        
It provides the Council with the ability to surge
and flex its capacity as required in a way that is harder to do
with an employed internal service.
 
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS:
An entirely in-house solution
for the provision of reablement home care; this is not recommended
due to the continuing inability to recruit to full staffing in
Reablement West, despite several campaigns, one off incentive and
changes to terms. This option would also diminish WNC’s
aspiration for a risk sharing around periods of demand and surge
and allow a more mixed approach to delivery.
 
Partially insourcing the
provision of reablement home care for rural packages. While this
could address the challenge of providing commissioned care in rural
areas it would also require the addition of travel time and
expenses to be sustainable. This is not recommended; insourcing
rural packages would increase the cost of reablement home care. It
would also reduce the amount of commissioned reablement homecare by
around 25% as care providers based in rural areas generally employ
care workers who live in the geographic area of the service thus
reducing travel time and increasing productive contact time.
Insourcing the rural packages would fragment the overall activity
and could undermine the operational and financial viability of the
appointed provider and make the tender less attractive to the
market.
 
An open approved “call
off” list could be introduced as an alternative to a single
contract. This is not recommended because this could increase the
likelihood of a high number of very small providers of reablement
home care packages with each having the overhead, management and
other costs (as see in the home/domiciliary care market) and which
would further erode provider’s operational and financial
viability for the council as this in seen often to increase the
hourly rate needed to sustain the business.