The Council provides a wide range of services for older people from meals on wheels to residential homes.
More and more older people are enjoying good health and living longer. Between 2010 and 2015 the number of older people living in Nottinghamshire will increase by 20,900 people. This means more people need our services. To help keep up with this demand, the County Council will invest an extra £15.5 million in services for older and vulnerable people in 2010-11.
This includes:
- an extra £6m for people with mental health and learning disabilities and £1.9m for people with physical disabilities
- provision of an extra 160 places of extra care delivered in partnership with external providers
- £2.3million extra to pay more to independent care homes which provide better quality services.
To help pay for this investment, the way some services are provided will change.
Care homes
The County Council's 13 residential care homes will be sold to private companies or charitable organisations in the next few years.
When the care homes are sold, residents will not see any difference to their care because:
- current residents will be able to remain in the same home along with the staff
- the same staff will be transferred to the new organisation and their terms and conditions will be protected
- the County Council has a fee structure with privately owned homes, so those people we fund to live in a care home won't be affected by any changes to charging
- contractual documentation will be drafted as far as possible to discourage the closure of homes in the future.
Any staff transferring to another organisation will have their terms and conditions protected under 'transfer of undertaking protection of employment regulators' TUPE agreements.
There is a great deal of choice (160 homes) and quality provided by private sector care homes in Nottinghamshire.
The County Council will use all of the proceeds of the sale to invest into services for older people. This includes extra care, which is an extension to traditional supported housing where older people can live as independently as possible with the reassurance that 24 hour on-site help is available if they need it. Older people buy, part buy or rent a flat on a complex. They can have their own space as much as they want it, or can mix with other people in the communcal areas.
Four hundrend people currently live in a County Council care home, and the Council financially supports over 2,500 people in private care homes. The Council works with the private sector to help promote better quality care in Nottinghamshire. One of the ways we do this is buy giving higher payments to care homes who can demonstrate they provide better quality services for their residents. The Council has invested £2.3 million extra into these extra payments this year. This is one of the things the Council has been praised for by national inspectors, who have recently rated the authority as ‘performing excellently’ with services for vulnerable adults.
Home care
Home care charges will be increased from £8.80 to £12 an hour, with the maximum weekly charge increasing from £78.50 to £120.
People will be assessed on their ability to pay, with only those who can afford it paying the maximum cost. Those people who currently pay nothing for home care will still get their care for free. So if you are a single person who has an income of less than £155.06 a week or a couple who have an income of less than £236.69 a week, you will not have to pay anything towards the cost of your home care.
Even those paying the maximum charge will still have their care subsidised by the County Council (the average cost of home care is £13.41 an hour). The national average weekly home care charge is £255.96.
Day services - charges
Introducing charging for day services, with a day rate of £4 and maximum weekly charge of £20.
People receiving social care services, such as home care or residential care, currently have to pay, so a review will bring day care in line with other services.
As with other social care services, people will be assessed on their ability to pay, with those on the lowest incomes likely to get their day services for free.
Even those paying the £4 a day charge will still have their day services subsidised by the County Council, as it costs £44 a day for an older person, £72 a day for someone with learning disabilities and £102 a day for someone with physical disabilities.
Transport
Increasing daily transport charges from £2.15 for a return journey to £4.
Many people receive benefits which are specifically paid to meet their transport needs.
The County Council will still heavily subsidise the cost of transport, which is between £6 – £13 per person per return journey.
Day services for older people
The County Council will close three day services for older people:
- The Dukeries in Ollerton, Whinney Lane, New Ollerton, Newark, Nottm, NG22 9TD
- Tutin Court, Burton Walk, East Leake, Nottingham, Notts LE12 6JY.
- Patchills, Eakring Road, Mansfield, NG18 3BS
However, the County Council will still provide services for those people who need them, either at other day centres or by funding community-based activities.
Older people who attend the centres which are likely to close will be reassessed and those who meet the existing criteria will receive day services at another location in the same area.
Other day services which currently run for six or seven days will reduce by one day a week.
Review day services for people with physical disabilities
Willow Wood and Dallas Street day services will be merged with the Dallas Street centre.
As more people with physical disabilities use community facilities, some day centres are becoming more and more underused. Dallas Street is one of these.
Day services for people with learning disabilities
Redoaks will be the main base and Willow Wood will be a smaller satellite site. However, the County Council will still provide services for those people who need them, either at a day centre or by funding community-based activities
End the Dial-a-Ride service
When Dial-a-Ride was launched, there were few transport alternatives for people with disabilities. Now taxis are designed for disabled people, which has led to a reduction in the use of Dial-a-Ride. There are 1,089 disabled people who are registered with the Dial-a-Ride service, but only 28 people use it regularly.
Nottinghamshire Dial-a-Ride is more costly than neighbouring local authorities and, at £364,000 a year for just 28 people, the Council cannot justify this level of expenditure for a relatively small number of people.
Meals at home
New charges will be phased in during 2010/11 to increase the meals on wheels price to £3 from the current £2.35 charge.
This will still compare favourably with other councils, with the average cost being between £4 and £5.
Fund for disabled people
The Council’s fund for disabled people will be closed. The fund provided grants for people with disabilities to help them pay for equipment like scooters and wheelchairs. The money saved will be reinvested into adult social care and health services.
If you have a disability and need advice about equipment or adaptations to your home, contact the Customer Service Centre (tel: 08449 80 80 80) to request an occupational therapy assessment. The Disabilities Living Centre (tel: 0115 985 5780) can also give advice about aids and equipment for daily living.
