Home care cuts: low costs described as unfair

Friday 30 September 2016

Health bosses have defended their decision to withdraw funding for home care services in Jersey, meaning more than 200 vulnerable or disabled Islanders will now have to pay more to be looked after.

The service is provided by Family Nursing and Home Care, but they announced this morning that Health was withdrawing the funding, meaning charges would have to increase from £11 per hour to around £19 per hour; it's also led them to make the jobs of 118 staff 'potentially at risk, while they renegotiate their contracts. Those unable to accept the new contracts, which will leave them worse off, will face redundancy.

FNHC receives around £7.5million a year from Health to provide a variety of nursing care services to Islanders in the community. 

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 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. 

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. 

In a statement released this afternoon, the Health Minister Andrew Green says that it isn't fair on either 'clients' or competitors that FNHC is able to charge less, because of the subsidy. 

He says that FNHC has been providing 30% fewer home care services, so it's right to reduce the budget, and that the charity has been given plenty of notice:

"The introduction of the long-term care scheme in 2014 was intended to encourage Islanders with long-term care needs to stay in their own homes for as long as possible – this is what people told us they wanted.

"The success of this approach has prompted a change in the market for homecare and there are now over 20 approved providers of home care services on the Island.

"FNHC is the only homecare provider on the Island subsidised by Health and Social Services and this means that the rates they charge are well below market rates.

"In HSSD’s view, it is not fair to customers or other homecare providers that FNHC is able to charge clients £11 an hour because of the subsidy from HSSD. Other providers have to charge the market rate without a subsidy, which is nearer to approximately £20 an hour. 

"In HSSD’s view, FNHC has found it difficult to come to terms with the new changes to the market despite the fact that HSSD has regularly offered to provide assistance in reducing costs, improving sustainability and considering other options. Ultimately, decisions about the services it chooses to provide and its staffing arrangements are for FNHC."

Senator Green argues that the Long Term Care scheme, and Income Support are both available to help Islanders who may have difficulty paying more for Home Care Service.