Home care costs to rocket following funding cuts

Friday 30 September 2016

More than 200 vulnerable and disabled Islanders are facing a massive increase in the cost of being looked after at home, following a decision by the Health Department to cut funding.

It also means that the 118 Family Nursing and Home Care staff who provide those services have had their jobs put 'potentially at risk', while the charity renegotiates their contracts, a process which it accepts will leave them worse off. Those unable to accept the new contracts will face redundancy.

FNHC will continue providing home care services, which it says costs £1.9million to run, on a not-for-profit basis - but will now be doing so in competition with the private sector - the actual market rate for the services is around £19 per hour, while FNHC currently charges only £11, as the service is subsidised.

That means Islanders will have to pay more, or seek other States benefits to cover the difference. 

FNHC receives around £7.5million a year from Health to provide a variety of nursing care services to Islanders in the community. That sum covers about 83% of their activities, which means they need to raise their own funds to cover the shortfall.

Currently, part of that money covers home care services - such as help with dressing, helping with medication, bathing, getting out of bed or going to the toilet - to 214 vulnerable or disabled Islanders in their own home. That funding was suddenly reduced by £432,000 in July this year, and FNHC have been told the home care service won't be funded at all next year. 

The charity also says the level of its funding has still not been confirmed at all for next year, or the way they will be funded - but it is likely that other services will continue including District Nursing Services, Specialist Nursing, Rapid Response and Re-ablement, Palliative and End of Life Care, Health Visiting, Children’s and School Nursing and Child Accident Prevention. 

Management met staff this week to explain the situation with them, and to begin the process of renegotiating their contracts, which will result in worse terms, with the staff and unions. 

Julie Gafoor, Chief Executive of FNHC, commented:

"Unfortunately we can no longer afford to offer the same benefits packages that the States of Jersey is in a position to offer its employees. Staff will be offered continued employment on a revised contract. Regrettably, this revised contract will be less generous in regard to Terms and Conditions of Employment and, therefore, to be fair to staff, redundancy terms will be offered as an alternative to the revised contract.

"FNHC has been providing subsidised home care support to Islanders for 65 years, the last seven plus years of which has been through a service level agreement with HSSD. 

"The removal of HSSD funding for Home Care means FNHC will no longer be able to provide the same level of service to clients at its historically low rate. A review of its charging structure is underway and clients will shortly be informed of the likely impact. To mitigate the impact on clients, and allow them time to prepare for the changes, a notice period will be given before the changes are implemented.

"Some of our clients qualify for Long Term Care funding, and we continue to encourage all those who have not yet been assessed for eligibility to contact the Community and Social Services Department to arrange an assessment. We are concerned for those clients who fall short of the eligibility criteria for Long Term Care who may now find it difficult to afford the appropriate level of care now the safety cushion of a State supported community care offering has been removed. We have made representations to HSSD and have been assured that they are working with Social Security on some form of financial help for those clients who fall below the Long Term Care threshold and may struggle with care funding."