Engage: Taking social care back to basics

By Chris Wilson30th September 2015EngageBusiness / Funding / Finance, Commissioning, Engage, Finance, Management, Social Care

The Care Act signalled the start of significant legislative changes within the public sector, and despite some delay, it has undoubtedly changed the landscape of social care in the UK. With the Act to coming into force at a time when budgets are under unprecedented pressure, the social care landscape today looks markedly different than it did just a few years ago.

Due to these forces, much of the focus in social care is on how to manage budgets better, to ensure a consistent service for all with a limited amount of money. Indeed local authorities are constantly looking at how the internal costs of arranging social care can be reduced. As we face the dilemma of reduced budgets combined with an aging population, the struggle for local authorities becomes that much harder.

This risk is however, that in attempt to make things better we actually make thing worse. In the simplest terms we want three things as buyers; better quality, better prices, and better process. However perhaps the answer is in simplicity – back to basics.

Better quality means getting people the services that they need from the best possible provider. And yet care packages often aren’t commissioned based on what people need, or indeed on which provider is best suited to them. Price, availability, location etc. often take precedence over which provider best suits the individual. As such it’s no surprise that providers often prioritise prices and fulfilment over quality of service.

So what about price? Thankfully negotiating long term rates with providers is going out of fashion and procurement professionals are looking at new ways of pricing for services. The most effective approach is simply paying providers the going rate for the service you are buying – which allows the market to tell you the price for a particular service and make your decision accordingly. In the same way we buy everything else in this world – if we don’t overpay for groceries or holidays then why would we for social care?

There is enough information around to put competitive pressure on providers. Then as buyers we can only pay the market rate, or else we will force providers out of the market – a familiar tale with many framework contracts. Indeed these failing framework contract end up costing significantly more than if you simply pay the market rate in the first instance.

Process is the simplest of the three elements to manage as technology now exists to streamline process and make significant improvements. Giving end users access to the same technology the council uses can also bring people closer to commissioning experts and give everyone the process they want.

Perhaps going back to basics is the answer. If we can harness the power of technology to help vulnerable people find the best provider at the right price each time they need a service, that might be the innovation we’ve been looking for.