New contracts for 11 care homes
Contracts have just been signed which should bring peace of mind to residents and staff in 11 Warwickshire care homes.
The agreement between Warwickshire County Council, which owns the homes, and Warwickshire Care Services, who run them, will ensure continuity of care for older people and adults with disabilities over the next four years - good news for them, their relatives, and the homes’ staff.
"Warwickshire Care Services have been running the 11 homes for the past 15 years and they are valued partners," said Graeme Betts, Strategic Director of Adult, Health & Community Services.
"However, the County Council wants to modernise residential care provision countywide, over the next few years, so longer contracts based on the status quo would have been inappropriate. The new contracts offer a flexible and sustainable framework within which to make service improvements. They are, by mutual agreement, the best way forward for all concerned and show the commitment of both parties to modernisation with minimum disruption."
“Warwickshire Care Services have worked in partnership with the County Council for 15 years, providing quality residential care to Warwickshire people,” said WCS Chief Executive Hazel Wren. “We, like the County Council, are committed to modernising services to provide greater choice and more personalised care. The new agreement ensures continuity of care for service users and staff. By working together, we will meet the future needs of people in Warwickshire.”
Warwickshire County Council owns 22 residential care home sites and runs 10 of them. WCS run 11 and the remaining home is operated by another external provider, Prime Life.
A comprehensive review was launched last July (2007) to look at ways to offer older people, and adults with disabilities, more choice and improved services in the decades ahead. The project, still in its early stages, is known as the Care & Choice (Accommodation) Programme - CACAP for short.
One of the main reasons for the CACAP review is the county’s ageing population. The number of Warwickshire people over 85 is expected to increase by more than a third in the 10 years to 2016. The number of people with dementia is forecast to rise by more than a quarter over the same decade. Rising demand alone means doing nothing is not an option.
More information on the review can be found at: http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/caring choices.