Care firms’ registration delay adds to ‘anxiety’ of paralysed client

THE two private companies which controversially won contracts from Scottish Borders Council to deliver home care in the region for the next three years have yet to be registered for these services with the regulatory Care Commission.

Until that happens, neither Livingston-based Care Choices (Hawick, Kelso and Berwickshire) nor Independent Living Services (ILS) from Alloa (central Borders and Peeblesshire) will be able to operate.

The contracts were due to start on May 11, but TheSouthern has learned it could take the watchdog up to six months to process the registrations.

Laura Davidson, regional manager for the Commission, confirmed both operators had made contact to begin the process.

“When registering a new service, we aim to complete that process within six months,” said Ms Davidson. “Whether the changes in the Borders are treated as new services or a variation of existing services, there is no guarantee the May 11 date will be met. We will always work to prioritise registrations and ensure there is continuity for those who use such care services to ensure their safety and welfare.”

The firms will initially take over the 3,500 hours a week delivered by six local private companies, the largest of which is Borders Caring Services (BCS) which does 1,700 hours in the central Borders and Peeblesshire. Over three years, with new referrals, this will rise to 5,000, with SBC’s in-house team providing a similar number of hours.

However, the likely delay, according to one pensioner, is set to cause “further anxiety and uncertainty” for his severely disabled wife who currently receives care from one of the Borders-based external providers which lost out when the contracts were awarded earlier this month.

“If client care is paramount, I cannot understand the decision to appoint a new provider, especially one [Care Choices] from outwith the region,” said the 71-year-old man who lives near Kelso but does not wish to be named.

His wheelchair-bound wife, who has been paralysed since contracting a virus three years ago, is a client of Nightingales which employs 36 home carers and delivers 550 care hours a week in the Kelso area.

“Two carers get my wife up in the morning and return in the evening to put her to bed. Her care is of a very personal nature and she has built up a trusting relationship with the Nightingales carers who give a fantastic and very sensitive service.

“My wife is very, very upset that this change is happening, that her carers say they will not transfer to the new company and that we don’t now know when it will all happen.”

He said he has applied for a direct payment, which requires an assessment of his wife’s condition by SBC’s social work department, a week ago. Under Scotland’s free personal care for the elderly regime, such moneys are paid directly to the client who can then engage a carer or provider of choice.

And he wants to stick with Nightingales which, it is understood, has been reprimanded by SBC for encouraging clients to take this course of action.

SBC director of social work Andrew Lowe said he was concerned some clients of existing providers were being “alarmed” over the impending changes.

He is writing today to the rejected companies to make sure they are clear about their obligations to consult with staff on the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) which preserves the pay and conditions of carers who switch to the new operators. He will concede it is an anxious time for them and their staff, and remind them that direct payments are an option for clients. But he will insist that causing unnecessary stress or anxiety to clients must be avoided “at all costs”.

“We are setting out ground rules to ensure continuity of care and a smooth transition … that, ultimately, is paramount,” he told TheSouthern yesterday.

Of the potential delay in registration, Mr Lowe said it will “take as long as it takes”, but he does not believe it will be six months and he said all existing providers know it is “business as usual” until the transition.

The Commission will need to be satisfied that the new operators have offices in the area and have recruited sufficient staff to deliver the services.

Kevin Scullion, managing director of ILS, said: “I see no problems with continuity of care.”

However, a spokesperson for Nightingales confirmed this week that none of its 36 home carers have any intention of transferring to the new home care company.