Care England, a partner of the Quality Care Campaign, has expressed concerns about poor commissioning and the impact it has on a providers’ ability to deliver services and plan ahead.
The independent provider has called for commissioners to be subject to independent scrutiny as part of a wider goal that seeks long-term consistency in commissioning practice and the setting of fees at the true cost of care.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), has also shared this view in its recent ‘Beyond Barriers Report’ on integrated care systems.
It was noted in the report of implementing a new legislation in order that CQC could regulate how people and organisations work together to support people to stay well.
Professor Martin Green OBE, chief executive of Care England, said: “Learning Disability services are often overlooked by the public as a marginal issue despite offering valuable support for vulnerable adults to remain independent within their communities and when commissioning of these services is not up to scratch, the risks of these services becoming marginalised intensifies.”
Care England have said its members have also expressed concerns in their commissioning relationship with Birmingham City Council with regard to Learning Disability services.
It’s been noted that the City Council pay low base rate fees of £12.29 per house for support living and £471.32 per week for residential care and unprecedented requests for information to demonstrate changes in the care needs of people using their services.
Care England have now called for a more mature relationship to address accelerating risk to the sustainability of the care market.
A new approach between commissioners and providers is welcomed by Care England with the Care Act 2014 in mind.
“The relationship between commissioners and providers is critical.
“Collaborative working is key in working towards improving access to high quality, personalised services and support and while most relationships across the country are generally robust, there are examples where improvements are required,” said Professor Green.
Care England works to ensure that care services are commissioned fairly, efficiently and on a properly funded basis, to meet the true costs of providing quality care.