Home Care Providers Invited To Bid In Online Auction

A Council has come under attack for asking care providers to bid in an online auction for delivering services.

South Lanarkshire Council set up the e-auction for firms to tender for providing care at home by submitting charges by the hour.

Bidders could not see who their rivals were but were able to see the lowest price and amend their own to compete.

Care-at-home providers fear firms would go so low in the reverse race that services would not be profitable over a period of years.

Joe Campbell, chairman of umbrella body Scottish Care at Home, said: “It seems unbelievable that care contracts should be awarded in this way.

“Being required to reduce prices to a level which may or may not be sustainable over the contractual period of three to four years is a very dangerous practice indeed.”

Scottish Care at Home carried out an exercise to determine the cost of providing council care at home. Mr Campbell said they found the average cost was around £25 per hour.

He added: “They are paying this internally and sourcing out the hours they cannot do themselves. But when it comes to external providers they expect to drive down costs to nearer £10 per hour.

“We know councils are going to have less to spend on public services in the next few years, but the demand for care at home continues to increase. We call upon councils to decrease their direct provision, the costs of which seem to be out of control. Such action would increase the number of hours of care offered at no extra cost to the council.”

A spokeswoman for South Lanarkshire Council said: “Providing the best possible home care service for our clients is our priority.

“The tender process has not concluded and a decision on the award of contracts has not yet been made. However, the emphasis of our e-tender process was on quality and not the lowest price.”