Proposals to change homecare agreed by cabinet

Council leaders have given the green light to proposals for a new approach to providing care for people who want to live in their homes but need some support.

Wiltshire Council's current Help to Live at Home contract ends in October this year. The council now will work together with care providers to create a new alliance called Wiltshire Living Well At Home to help meet the need for good quality home care.

The alliance will ensure people and their family/carers have access to high quality care services that treat them with dignity and respect, keep people safe, offer real choice and control, promote independence and social inclusion and are supported by highly skilled and dedicated staff.

By ensuring timely access to good quality homecare this will contribute towards preventing, delaying or reducing the need for care and support of people or for support to carers. It will also support the prevention of hospital admissions, help to reduce delayed discharges and aid hospital discharge.

Changes to homecare to help meet demand against the backdrop of rising costs includes changing geographical zones from the current three to 15 with each smaller zone having care providers who can focus on care in their area. Smaller more manageable zones will help providers create more efficient runs, decrease travel times, and support more effective recruitment. There will also be an improved use of telecare where appropriate and encouraging people to access the help already available in their communities.

Cllr Jane Davies, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care said: "Our current contract ends in October and we are looking at the best way to provide homecare in the future, which includes consulting with key stakeholders. We will go out to tender in the next few months to be ready for a new service from November which will be called Wiltshire Living Well at Home.

"We will take the good work from the current model, and the lessons learned, and ensure we build on that with our new alliance. We do this against a difficult backdrop where there is an increasing demand for care so we need to reassess and refresh the way we do things so we can continue to provide good quality care and meet the changing needs of residents. We want to support people to live independently, with a focus on preventing, reducing, and delaying the need for specialist services. This of course helps to manage demand and costs but ultimately it is better for the wellbeing of people needing care who want to stay in their homes where possible and have their independence.  

"Our focus will be on providing a homecare service which is innovative, flexible and sustainable and one where we can make use of all types of support including technology, and recognising the importance of the support that comes from being part of communities, and voluntary and community organisations.

Cabinet agreed officers continue to prepare and complete the tender programme to provide a new contract for homecare by 1 November 2022. They will also develop a model informed by supply and demand. By working in partnership with a group of providers who join the Wiltshire Living Well at Home (WLW@H) Alliance; commissioners will be able to offer services in different ways to maximise the use of available resources by establishing longer-term, more effective relationships with service providers.