Agenda item

AWARD REPORT FOR (1) DOMICILIARY CARE FRAMEWORK (2) DOMICILIARY CARE PATCH CONTRACTS (PART 1)

Minutes:

Report ACH21-031

 

In accordance with its statutory social care function, the Council provided approximately 15,000 hours of standard domiciliary care per week and spent around £14m per annum providing services to adult residents of Bromley.  Additionally, children and young people access support services which encompass the wider definition of domiciliary care.  The cost of this activity was £0.7m per year (560 hours per week).

The current Domiciliary Care Framework commenced in August 2012 as a ‘5 year plus 2 year plus 2 year’ contract and was scheduled to end on 26 August 2021.

On 27 November 2019, the Executive had agreed to proceed to procure for a multi-provider Framework contract for domiciliary care to replace the expiring Framework.  The Gateway 0/1 report also outlined the move towards providing a Patch Model of provision with additional support provided through a list of Framework providers.

In summary, the borough would be divided into four geographical patches (East, West, Central and south).  Each Patch had between one and three Patch providers, depending on the number of service hours to be delivered in that Patch.  It was envisaged that the Patch arrangements would result in better provider staff recruitment and retention levels due to potentially better contract terms and work conditions and greater knowledge in the relevant geographical patches.  In turn it was planned that there would be improved quality assurance arrangements with a smaller group of core providers.

The eight Patch Providers would deliver the primary domiciliary care model.  To give greater flexibility and to ensure that all care and support needs will be met, the Patch Provider contract will be supplemented with a Framework (up to 32 providers). The Framework providers would be used only when Patch providers were not able to respond to service requests.

In order to ensure that there was a seamless transition from children to adults services, the new Framework incorporated all ages.  Children’s domiciliary care would account for approximately 3% of the new business and 11% of the activity was likely to be related to clients that were eligible for Continuing Care support (NHS funded).  Including the latter would support the integration agenda, whilst maximising the opportunity for the Council and CCG to achieve economies of scale, more competitively priced joint packages and avoid multiple providers for service users that are eligible for health and social care assistance.

The new Framework and Patch arrangements would also supersede the current Discharge to Assess (D2A) Framework contract as planned and confirmed in D2A Framework Award report.  This equated to approximately 5% of the domiciliary care Framework activity.

The report set out the results of the two tendering processes and sought approval to award Framework contracts to multiple providers for the delivery of domiciliary care, alongside awarding theeight domiciliary care Patch contracts. The proposed Framework would commence from 27 August 2021 for a four year period. The Patch contracts would commence on the same date; however, Patch providers would be given 6 months to mobilise if they so wished.

Further details were set out in a part 2 report.

The report had been scrutinised by the Adult Care and Health PDS Committee on 29th June 2021 and the Committee supported the recommendations.

 

RESOLVED that

 

(1) The award to the named Framework providers (as detailed in the Part 2 report) be agreed for the four year period from 27 August 2021 – 28 August 2025; the Framework contract has an estimated overall annual value of £14.2m total per annum, the overall whole life value is £113.6m (Framework and Patch).

(2) Delegated authority be granted to the Director of Adult Social Care to reopen admission to the Framework, via a compliant process, as required and award further contracts to the Framework, within the estimated contract value as per resolution (1).

(3) The award of contracts be approved to the Domiciliary Care Patch Providers (as detailed in the Part 2 report) from the 27 August 2021 for 5 years with the option to extend for a further 3 years (5+3); with the estimated contract value as per resolution (1).

 

(4) Delegated authority be granted to the Director of Adult Social Care to apply the three year extension option for the Patch contracts, subject to Agreement with the Portfolio Holder for Adult Care & Health Services, the Assistant Director Governance & Contracts the Director of Corporate Services and the Director of Finance as determined by the Contract Procedure Rules.

 

 

Supporting documents: