Probe launched into concern over ‘care on the cheap’ for old folk

SOUTH Lanarkshire Council’s use of an online auction to acquire care provision for the elderly has been compared to “buying cheap jewellery on a TV shopping channel”.

The controversial ’reverse e-auctions’ were heavily criticised after Domiciliary Care (Scotland) (DCS) was the subject of a BBC Panorama programme which revealed serious failures in home care services for the elderly.

Now Holyrood’s Local Government Committee is to quiz bosses at SLC and the Care Commission over the use of the online process which encourages providers to submit the lowest hourly rate for care.

Committee convener Duncan McNeil said the findings will form the basis of a recommendation to the Scottish Government.

The Labour MSP said: “The programme raised serious issues about social care provision and the procurement and tendering process.

“I received an e-mail from a constituent who compared the tendering process to buying cheap jewellery on a TV shopping channel.

“The committee was all agreed that it needed investigation and we expect to begin taking evidence in the next few weeks.”

DCS was awarded a contract last year to provide care for around 400 elderly residents in three areas of South Lanarkshire, including East Kilbride.

The News revealed at the time that serious concerns had been raised over the award as the tendering process included an on-line reverse auction.

The Panorama documentary filmed three homecare providers and revealed them rushing between appointments – with some being missed entirely.

In one filmed incident, the cameras showed East Kilbride man Andrew Wilson, a 78-year-old retired engineer, receiving a bed bath while his carer talked on the phone.

The procurement method of selling to the lowest bidder through ’reverse e-auctions’ has been heavily criticised by trade unions and campaigners for the elderly for compromising standards to cut costs.

EK West Tory councillor Graham Simpson said: “This is an encouraging development. The Conservatives are the only party in South Lanarkshire to have spoken out against this appalling method of procuring care services.

“My hope is that the MSPs will conclude likewise – that reverse e-auctions are fine for buying goods but no good at all for people services.”

SLC launched an immediate probe following last month’s programme.

A spokeswoman said: “The council is not officially aware of any investigation.

“A report on elderly care in South Lanarkshire will be on the agenda at the Social Work Committee on June 17.”