Staffordshire care in the home

 1. Care in the Home 2023-2025

•  A Platform Agreement for the provision of Home Care, including respite and sitting services for all adults with eligible social care needs has been operational from 1st September 2021 and runs until 31st August 2025 in Staffordshire.

• The home care Platform Agreement aims to enable people drawing on care and support to remain in their own home for as long as possible and to achieve and maintain their autonomy, independence, personal identity and assessed outcomes.

• Providers are expected to manage complex packages; this may include service users with multiple needs receiving services from a variety of agencies.

• The Council has appointed multiple providers across 12 geographical Contract zones classified as north Staffordshire include the following:
  • Zone 1 - East Staffordshire
  • Zone 4 - Moorlands north
  • Zone 5 - Moorlands south
  • Zone 6 - Newcastle
  • Zone 7 - Newcastle north
  • Zone 8 - Stafford

• Contract zones classified as south Staffordshire include the following:
  • Zone 2 - Tamworth
  • Zone 3 - Lichfield
  • Zone 9 - South Staffordshire north
  • Zone 10 - South Staffordshire
  • Zone 11 - Cannock south
  • Zone 12 - Cannock north

• All care packages are brokered through the Council’s brokerage portal, using the council’s preferred electronic monitoring system for the duration of the Platform Agreement.

• If a provider is rated by the Care Quality Commission as inadequate,they will be suspended from accepting new care packages but will be able to continue with any existing care packages, subject to quality and safeguarding assurance.

• Pre-purchased rotas (set hours paid for in advance) can be called upon when the Council requires additional capacity to meet a surge in demand (e.g. during winter to facilitate hospital discharge).

• Care needs are identified in individual support plans and the provider will ensure the service user and their carer or carers are at the centre of the support planning and delivery process to enable outcomes, needs and expectations to be met in an enabling and efficient manner.

• Individuals may opt to buy their support and care via their direct payments, or a personal budget, or any alternative methods that promote the provision of self-directed support such as individual service funds.

• As of the 1st September, 2021, 109 providers applied to be on the Platform Agreement within Staffordshire who are registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide home care services; the Council has 75 contracts with providers.

2. Commissioning intentions as of August 2023

• Home care services are delivered through our contractual arrangements with providers who have tendered for the Platform Agreement. The Council intends to work with and place most of its business with contracted providers. This is in accordance with procurement legislation and ensures we can monitor providers and the quality of their services. Under the current contractual arrangements, we have commissioned a more standardised service under a consolidated hourly rate for care, which is intended to provide more stability for a market consisting of a high proportion of small and medium enterprises.

• It is a Council priority to assure the continuous supply of this vital service across all areas of the county, which means that we will make every effort to ensure that our contracted providers are delivering according to demand. Where this has not been achieved, we will consider making alternative arrangements to meet this shortfall as and where necessary and for as long as this is deemed appropriate.Examples may include using pre-purchase rotas in defined areas to guarantee a level of paid hours to providers or paying an enhanced level of payment to attract supply into parts of the County.

• The council regularly reviews how changing demand can best be met. Currently, this includes exploring best-value methods for delivering both non-regulated care and complex care packages, and by growing the capacity of the Council’s trading company home care arm, Nexxus Care.

• Under the Platform Agreement the Council has also included non standardised care, complex care, live-in care, and carers respite and sitting service to address the issues within the market and to ensure sustainability and meet the changing needs of the adults of Staffordshire.

• Our current contractual arrangements can continue as it is a Platform Agreement but can also be retendered if required. The current Platform Agreement term is until 2025 with an option to extend to 2028. Provision has also been included in the Platform Agreement for it to be opened to applicants, including new providers via a tender process, thus allowing providers to join the Platform Agreement throughout its lifetime. This enables newproviders to join and helps sustain the marketplace. Providers who are interested in contracting with the Council should register on the e-Procurement Portal, Proactis, to register their interest. It is intended that the Platform Agreement will open twice per year, to enable new providers or non-contracted providers to join the Platform Agreement. The Council has also reserved the right to open the Platform Agreement up to the market at other additional times/frequencies to assist in the supply of contracted services. Specific engagement about tender opportunities will be carried out through the portal.

• The Council is committed to continuing the shift towards personalisation and community-based support enabling service user choice and control using direct payments and self-directed support to support individuals to live inclusive and valued lifestyles,according to their personal choice. To achieve this, the Council aims to:

• Promote a vibrant and sustainable market for the future available to older people and all adults with disabilities and functional mental health issues, which meets people’s needs, is affordable and is of the right quality.
• Offer newly assessed individuals’ choice and control in respect of where they live and increased options in the types of accommodation available, including alternative options to building-based accommodation or services.
• Support individuals in their own homes to participate fully in the same range of community options as other people, building on individual and community assets.
• Make timely decisions where there is an assessed need and when individuals are unable to remain independent without significant support in the community to place people in building-based accommodation or services.

3. Challenges in the current marketplace

• Nationally and locally, the home care market is under significant pressure. Post Covid-19 homecare providers are struggling to recruit and retain an appropriately trained workforce with the right values base, while staff turnover is approximately 22% annually. The current squeeze on the cost of living and rising travel costs adds additional pressure.

• Staffordshire undertakes a discretionary annual fee-review to assist in meeting rising costs, alongside the development of a comprehensive workforce strategy. Additional resources include access to the wellbeing hub and other wellbeing resources, various non-recurrent grants, and access to skills for care funding.

This information relating to home care services in Staffordshire is available as a printable PDF document upon request.