Devon County Council care homes up for sale

CARE HOMES owned by Devon County Council have been put out to tender, in a process which could see a range of private operators taking over control.

Companies will have the chance to bid for just one or several of the authority’s 24 care homes, in a move which could see the council’s operations carved up between several companies.

It comes after the collapse of a deal with Shaw Healthcare, which would have seen the firm take control of all the homes – but seven faced the risk of closure.

Last night, concerns were raised about the privatisation of adult social care, but some believe the plans on the table will give elderly residents more choice, and could help keep homes open.

At the moment, the council pays the private sector homes £375 a week per resident, whereas it spends £900 on beds in its own homes.

The tender process, to be discussed at a cabinet meeting tomorrow, comes against the backdrop of an ongoing consultation process which could result in 130 staff losing their jobs, many of them carers.

The controversial move is set to save the authority about £5 million – money the council claimed at the time would be injected back into front-line services for the elderly.

Councillor Stuart Barker, Devon County Council’s cabinet member for adult and community services, said the homes would be sold off as small block contracts to a number of operators instead of one private company.

He said the new Conservative administration wanted to find a new and “fair” way of ensuring that the homes continued to provide care, and the residents would continue to get “the same care from the same staff”.

The council intended the transfer of care home services to be “seamless”, and he said covenants would be put in place to prevent new operators selling off the homes for development.

Coun Barker added: “We are absolutely committed to our homes as going concerns, so any changes as a result of this process will not mean that they will have to move. We have designed our tender carefully and flexibly so that it will present opportunities for small, medium and larger private sector care providers.”

Health campaigner John Crowter-Jones, who is involved with a number of organisations, including Living Options and Age Concern, questioned the wisdom of privatising care homes, amid fears that companies “are only in it for a profit”.

He said: “The council seems unable to run them efficiently, but so many of these private companies are just so greedy.”

He said charities should be involved in providing care.

But Jeremy Christophers, who sits on Teignbridge District Council and runs the excellent-rated St Andrews House care home, in Ashburton, said the best facilities had residents’ interests firmly at heart, and said those which did not meet standards should be closed down.

He said they were also much more cost-effective, and clients held the ultimate choice over wether they stayed. Coun Christophers added it was “increasingly evident” under the Shaw deal that homes were likely to close, and said more would probably survive under the new proposal.

He was looking into whether to bid, and said the decision would depend on whether the process took into account quality of care, instead of simply cost.

He warned that the council would also need to pay more than the current £375 per week to get the best possible service.

Chris Roberts, whose disabled son Nick, 40, received respite care at homes run by the authority, said such changes meant an anxious wait for users of the services.

She added: “I am concerned about it all – particularly the prospect of staffing changes. Nick has a very complex and particular set of problems and he needs carers who know how to deal with him and who give enough supervision.”

Martin Green, chief executive of the English Community Care Association, said having several firms running services could offer more choice. But he added: “To have one company may be easier for the council, but not necessarily for the residents.”

The council said it also wanted to secure an extra 600 beds in the private sector for high level and complex residential care needs.

At tomorrow’s meeting, the authority will also discuss a review of its home care services, where the cabinet will be asked to consider a number of proposals including a rapid response team, home based rehabilitation and specialist domiciliary care.

If authorised by members of the cabinet, a consultation period would follow, during which clients, staff and stakeholders would be asked for their views on the potential plans.