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News

DEVELOPING HOME CARE IN POOLE

A new specialist role for the Borough of Poole’s in-house Home Care service will be discussed at the Borough’s Social Services Committee tonight.

The development of specialist services follows a review of Poole’s Home Care provision after concerns that the service was struggling to match expectation and demand.

Costing just over £4 million per year, the Borough of Poole currently supports over 1,000 people with Home Care services. Home Care helps vulnerable people live independently in their own homes by providing assistance with meals, dressing and other personal care tasks. Approximately 8,200 hours are funded each week by the Borough of Poole; 60% by independent providers and 40% by the Council’s in-house team.

In addition to developing specialist in-house home care services for more demanding services such as dementia care, the proposals to aim to:
· provide a "Safety net" for those service users the independent sector might not wish to provide a service to
· ensure the most vulnerable and at risk continue to receive a service from appropriately trained staff
· ensure the Council retains the ability to respond rapidly to emergencies and changes in service need
· provide a benchmark for quality and costs in the market and avoid cartels or monopolies developing
· ensure the best value is provided by all home care services

Cllr Mrs Jane James, Chairman of the Social Services Committee, said: "Since Poole became a Unitary Authority in 1997, we have been working to develop our in-house Home Care into a skilled and specialist service. We are fortunate in Poole to have a reliable independent sector able to provide more of the day to day care. Poole’s in-house team will therefore be able to concentrate on the more complex personal care needed by the most vulnerable and dependent members of our community. By working together we can ensure Poole’s vulnerable, old and frail receive the best quality care available".

-ends-

For more information contact: Fred Davies, Policy Director, Borough of Poole, tel: (01202) 633203