Cost of Care Survey

Leicestershire County Council have requested that nursing and care home operators in the county complete a fees questionnaire and financial template.  Such was the low level of response to their initial request that they have subsequently written to operators again asking them to complete the information.

 

The poor response should not have come as a surprise to the Council, as many operators will fear that the information collected by the survey could be used against them.

 

In response, EMCARE, the body that represents private care homes and nursing homes for both the elderly and younger adults in the East Midlands, are planning to carry out their own ‘cost of care’ survey, from a representative number of providers across Leicestershire.  I have no doubt that the response to this survey will be much better, and will therefore provide a more accurate picture.

 

If any readers are based in Leicestershire I would be interested to hear your views of the Council’s survey and whether you have taken part.

Colin

Costly Impact of Media Coverage of CQC Reports

I am aware of a number of recent cases where, under the CQC’s reporting of ‘compliant or not’, with specific reference to minor, moderate or major concerns on a relevant outcome, that local newspapers, and even the BBC, are getting involved.  It is clear that care for the elderly has become newsworthy, regardless of the quality of care portrayed.

Indeed, one local MP has been blogging heavily about a July 2011 CQC report on a local care home, totally unaware that a subsequent report in December 2011 shows that the situation has changed dramatically and that many of his comments are either out of date or incorrect.

It is clear from talking to nursing and care home operators that situations that were not considered newsworthy even just a few years ago are now regularly covered in the media and publicly commented on and discussed on social media platforms.  It goes without saying that the subsequent damage to a home’s reputation can be very costly.

I am keen to hear of any such incidents that people are aware of and look forward to receiving your comments.

Colin

MP’s Comments Cause Consternation

Comments made by Care Minister Paul Burstow denying that government funding for adult social care is inadequate have caused much consternation.  He had advised the Health Select Committee that there is no gap in funding for adult care in the current spending review period (2011-2015).  He basically blamed local government for any under funding.

I have read many blog posts on this matter and it is fair to say that most bloggers are of one mind – that he is burying his head in the sand.

Without being naive about politicians, this is the same MP who when in opposition in 2004 lambasted the then Labour Government for only increasing local government funding by 2.7% a year in real terms.  Isn’t it amazing what a few years can do to people’s views – especially when they are an MP!

As always, your thoughts are welcomed.

Colin

CQC Latest on Home Care Providers

Back in November, the CQC announced that it was to report on 250 companies who help people in their own homes with tasks such as dressing or taking medication, washing and eating.

The Equality & Human Rights Commission, via a spokesperson, confirmed that this could be an ‘important first step’ in addressing concerns.

CQC Chief Executive Cynthia Bower said: “The operation of home care is not as transparent as care in hospitals and other sectors because the interactions happens behind closed doors. That is why we want to focus on this sector of social care in this way”.

These inspections follow on from a pilot scheme run by the CQC in which 30 home care providers were reviewed.

I am keen to hear the thoughts of home care providers on these reviews, and particularly from those who have been the subject of a review, to find out how they got on and the implications it has had for their business. Also how do you think the CQC are coping with the increasing number of reviews and visits they have to carry out? It would be great to hear your comments.

Colin

Healthcare Bodies Press For Urgent Reform

Happy New Year to you.

In an open letter to The Telegraph today leaders of various Healthcare bodies urged the Government and other party leaders to seize the opportunity for urgent, fundamental and lasting reform: delivering a social care system which can provide the well-funded and high-quality care and support we would all expect for ourselves and our families.

The letter also refers to the Dilnot Commission and to the proposed Government White Paper on Social Care, which is to be published in April. The ongoing press is, I believe, welcome in terms of keeping the issues at the fore front of people’s attention and I hope that some real progress can be made in terms of a radical change to the way that elderly care is funded.  However, I fear that there may be a lot of discussion and not much real action.

The letter can be read via the link below.

http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/adult-care-blog/2012/01/new-year-new-call-for-social-care-funding-but-will-it-make-a-difference.html

Lessons To Be Learnt From Doctors’ Dispute

Healthcare connected and worthy of note is a transaction that I was recently involved with which started as a dispute between Doctors but became much more!

The PMS contract was in the name of two Doctors but the practice ran as a Limited Company, which is very unusual, with the two Doctors and two other employees as equal shareholders in the Limited Company.  We acted for the Doctor who ultimately acquired the shares from the other shareholders but the real issue was that the PMS contract was not in the name of the Limited Company and technically, therefore, the Company was worthless.  The PMS contract could not be assigned without the agreement of both Doctors, who simply could not agree on anything with emotions running high.

Ultimately common sense prevailed but the lessons to be learnt are:

1. Get a well drawn up partnership agreement
2. Get a well drawn up Shareholder Agreement
3. Chose your business partners well.

This was a really unusual case with the PCT quite rightly not wanting to be involved in the dispute but having been partially responsible for the way the business was initially set up.

I would be interested to know if there are many other Doctors trading as Limited Companies as they may learn from the above issue

The Care Providers Alliance

For those of you who are not familiar with The Care Providers Alliance, it is a group of representative bodies within the adult social care sector who have come together to ensure a coordinated response to the major issues affecting the sector.

Their recent publication, ‘The Regulation of Care & Support: A Care Provider Alliance Vision‘ is well worth reading with some great insight and highlights how important the provision of quality and excellence is for both the service providers and regulators.

A well written document which emphasises the points raised in my previous blog about the current perceptions of the sector from outside the industry.

Are Negative Perceptions Harming The Sector

I am continually surprised at the number of conversations that I have with professionals and others who are under the impression that the sector is struggling.  It is clear that the recent negative publicity surrounding the care home industry has had an impact on people’s perceptions.

Whilst we have to accept that the industry is going through major changes, it is my opinion that all of us working within the sector should ensure that we give a balanced view.  I acknowledge that the major funders gather their own intelligence which they use to determine their policies, but I have a real concern that they believe all of the negative publicity and, as a result, class the sector as a higher risk than necessary.

I would be interested to hear your views on this.  Has your business suffered in any way due to the recent publicity?  What have you been doing to counter it? For those not directly involved in the sector, how have your perceptions of it changed recently, if at all?

High Court Rules Local Authority Acted Unlawfully on Care Home Fees

In a recent case the High Court has ruled that Sefton Council acted unlawfully when making its decision to freeze care home fees for the second year running.

Martin Green, the Chief Executive of The English Community Care Association ( ECCA), has welcomed the ruling and an exert from his statement reads: ‘ We welcome the fact that the courts are ruling that the behaviour of local authorities in not acknowledging the true costs of care is not only immoral, but illegal. We expect that this case will lead councils to reflect on their commissioning practices and ensure fairer fees in the future.’

Some time ago, the healthcare team at Greenhalgh assisted a local care association in putting together a financial model to assess the true cost of care, as it was becoming apparent that local authorities conveniently ignore certain elements of the calculation when it suits their argument.

In the Sefton case Judge Raynor QC ruled that Sefton Council failed to carry out consultation which made the price freeze unlawful. It remains to be seen whether this judgement may now encourage local authorities to talk to operators, rather than simply steam rolling through changes to fees.  There are many other judicial reviews currently in progress so let’s hope that they continue to find in favour of the care home operators.

Homecare Group Call For Star Rating To Be Reinstated

Homecare operator The Mears Group has called for an immediate return in England to the simple and easily understood star ratings: the measure of the quality of a care home.

The star ratings, or ‘quality ratings’ as they were officially known, were dropped last year by the regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), for being incompatible with its new role of registering health and social care providers who meet essential standards of quality and safety.  Hence once a service gains registration and provided it passes what will be, from next year, annual unannounced inspections, that is the only classification it gets.

The CQC acknowledged that a void was left when it abandoned the star ratings and now that its voluntary excellence kite mark has also been shelved through total lack of support during the consultation stage, it begs the question where to next?

Currently the public are relying on the previous star ratings which are clearly very dated.  We will have to see how well the ‘compliant’ or ‘non compliant’ approach that is now in place fares.From a client perspective I am seeing a mixed response to the changes and it does leave funders in the unusual position of not really being aware of the quality of a home, only the quality of its financial results.

I’d be interested to hear your thoughts, or those of your clients.  Are they in line with the research carried our by the Mears Group or do you welcome the change?