Elderly Care Shake-Up To Save City £26m . . And Cost 750 jobs

HOME care of the elderly and infirm is to be shaken up in a move which would save the city council £26 million at the expense of 750 jobs.

The council plans to use a “re-ablement” programme which was piloted in Scandinavia, but has also proved popular in England.

Elderly people leaving hospital will be given six weeks of intensive support to get them as close to self-sufficient as they can be.

The council will then decide what home care they need and who is best placed to provide it. It plans to tender out a lot of general care to the private sector, which it believes will offer better value for money than its own staff, who will continue to provide more complex care for people in greater need.

It is also hoped that re-ablement will reduce the amount of care old people need in their home, at a time when the population of people aged 85 and over in the city is expected to rise rapidly – from 8614 this year, to 10,575 in 2016.

Councillor Paul Edie, the city’s health and social care leader, said this is increasing the pressure on the council’s home care budget.

“We have to make every penny go as far as we can,” he said. “It’s important to get better value for money, and I’m confident we will have a more efficient set-up.

“We are going to have to streamline as much as possible – we have a big (home care] budget, with an increasing number of demands.

“We operate in a mixed economy of care, and while there will be more of an emphasis on purchasing from the private sector, it’s critical to maintain an in-house team. We’re not looking at compulsory redundancies.”

The council expects to be able to reduce the majority of the 750 full and part-time posts through natural wastage, especially as many carers are themselves elderly and nearing retirement age.

He added: “By the end of the six-year period, we will have a service fit for the 21st century – the re-ablement programme will be revolutionary.

“This is a very positive move, and it’s going to make a lot of lives a lot better.”

Councillor Lesley Hinds, the Labour spokeswoman for health and social care, said she was concerned about whether people would continue to receive a high level of care with more responsibility in the hands of the private sector.

She said: “While I accept that when people come out of hospital they need to have six weeks of intensive care, what happens after that is fundamental to make sure they continue to have their independence and the support they need to stay in their own homes.

“My real concern is this is privatisation of a service.”