From , Press Office, Exeter , January 06, 1999

County Hall Topsham Road Exeter Devon EX2 4QD

Leader of the Council: Cllr Brian Greenslade

Chief Executive: Phil Norrey

Telephone: (01392) 383262

Fax: (01392) 382301

Email: [email protected]

Information Devon: www.devon.gov.uk

Devon County Council News: www.devon.gov.uk/media/

Fact File (2006/2007): Devon provides "good community leadership and value for money" - The Audit Commission

 Budget £713 million  Population: 724,700.  County Councillors: 62  Next County Council elections: May 7, 2009.  Schools: 367  Pupils: 96,500  Children looked after: 590  Adults helped to live at home: 13,500  Roads: 12,800 km (7,954 miles)  Bridges: 3,500  Residential Care: 4,500 adults  Libraries: 67 (11 mobiles)  Streetlights: 71,087  Illuminated road signs: 10,837  Recycling Centres: 19

MORE 2

From Mike Bomford, Exeter 382173, May 24,2007 £100 million boost for County's care services proposed invest 2

AN AMBITIOUS £100 million investment in specialist care for elderly and vulnerable people in Devon could go-ahead if the County Council's Cabinet backs a recommendation for exclusive negotiations with Shaw Healthcare Group for the take-over and development of the Council's in- house residential and domiciliary care services.

Shaw Healthcare, which is jointly owned by its employees and a national charity, is proposing a partnership with the County and Devon's District Councils and Health Services to develop extra care and special needs housing to enable people to continue to live independently in the community. Shaw would also retain, modernise and expand the great majority of the Council's residential care homes.

The aim is to meet the rising demand for care services in Devon. By 2023 there will be a 76% increase in those over the age of 85 years old and 47.7% increase in those over the age of 65. (ONS Population projection 2003) Those aged over 85 years require the highest level of care from health and social care services, and the cost of caring for someone in that age group is double the cost of caring for someone aged between 65 and 85. The number of people with complex care needs is also rising significantly.

The proposals are published in a new report by Devon's Director of Adult and Community Services, David Johnstone, which will be discussed at the County Council's Executive's meeting at County Hall, Exeter on Tuesday, May 29, and broadcast live on the web.

Mr Johnstone says the scale of Shaw Healthcare's proposed investment offers the opportunity to ensure:

 Continuity of care for all the people the County Council currently supports.  More specialist and high dependency care services including nursing care and support for the confused elderly.  More residential care beds and care homes with modern facilities.

MORE 3  Continuity of employment for County Council staff and protection for their conditions of employment.

The County Council’s in-house residential and domiciliary care services include 26 care homes around the county. In comparison, there are 460 private, not for profit and voluntary sector care homes in Devon registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Some 90% of the County Council’s long term residential care for older people and 70% of its domiciliary care for older people is already commissioned from good quality private, not for profit and voluntary sector care agencies.

Devon is one of a reducing number of local authorities to still provide in- house care services. In response to increasing public need for specialist care and demand for greater support for elderly people who want to live in their own homes, the County Council has been seeking a solution which would both ensure continuity of care for the people it looks after directly and allow the massive investment needed to fund new care services.

District Councils and health care providers worked closely with the County Council to establish what care services and facilities need to be provided in Devon to meet the growing demand and last year Devon County Council invited proposals from care providers to take over and develop its residential services and in-house domiciliary care services.

Bids from 10 organisations were received in response to the Tender and Shaw Healthcare Group was shortlisted following extensive evaluation involving the County, District and City Councils, service users, carers representatives, staff and Trade Unions.

Shaw Healthcare was established in 1986 and is 70% owned by its employees with the remaining stake held by a national charity. It works with local authorities across the UK to provide a range of mainstream and specialist care services including residential, nursing and supported living services.

Devon is well served for mainstream residential services from the private, not for profit and voluntary sectors, and now Shaw proposes to invest £100 million to increase the availability of complex and high need care services, especially nursing care and care for people with dementia, which is in short supply in Devon.

It would mean more residential beds than the County Council currently provides and, importantly, continuity of care for the people the Council currently looks after directly and continuity of employment for all the staff.

In addition, a planned new build of around 350 extra care housing units would also progress the County, District and City Councils' plans to enable people to continue to live independently in their own home.

MORE 4 Shaw Healthcare's multi-million pound investment proposal would see the majority of the existing homes being retained, expanded and modernised. The report says that a small number of homes might eventually close as part of the proposed investment programme to make way for the creation of more residential beds overall for people with specialist needs across the county, but no proposals are being made by Shaw at this stage about individual homes.

The report emphasises that should the Executive approve Shaw Healthcare as the preferred bidder for the Council's in-house services the purpose of exclusive negotiations would be to thoroughly investigate Shaw's business case before any final recommendations to County Councillors are made.

A second bidder is also detailed in the report. The Order of St John Care Trust (OSJ) has bid for the Council’s in-house residential services, but not their domiciliary services.

OSJ would replace most of the Council’s residential homes with fewer but larger homes. They would create new nursing and intermediate care beds in specialist rehabilitation centres in key locations; develop specialist care for people with dementia; and extra care housing units, while reducing spaces for people with low to medium care needs. Their proposed £40 million investment programme would require more home closures than Shaw’s proposal.

Devon County Council took the decision last year to step up its all-party supported modernisation programme for social care services, which was the result of extensive consultation and research evidenced in their Best Value Review, by becoming commissioners rather than direct providers of social care services for adults.

The strategy aims to improve the quality of care to meet rising demand by investing directly into the care of individuals and controlling costs by reducing local government administrative overheads. All other South West local authorities have already taken this decision to keep pace with local demand.

David Johnstone, Devon County Council’s Director of Adult and Community Services said: “Demand for social care is rising significantly especially for people with complex care needs and we are planning ahead for the next 30 years. That's why Devon County Council wants to work closely with an organisation which can help Devon deliver the very best services for our older and most vulnerable members of the community.

MORE 5 “If we did nothing to address that now and carry on the way we are, we will not keep pace with demand and people in future would not have an adequate service. But by developing these specialist residential and nursing services, alongside the existing care provision from the private sector, and add to that services designed to support people in their own homes for as long as possible, then Devon’s social services will meet the growing demand.

”Investment on the scale we’re looking at with Shaw Healthcare would mean continuity of care for people now and into the future, as well as continuity of employment for our staff.”

Other local authority areas where Shaw run residential, nursing and supported living services include West Sussex, Northamptonshire, Herefordshire, Kent, Bath and North East Somerset and Worcestershire.

Stephanie Canham, Head of Social Services for Adults with Learning Disabilities at Herefordshire Council, said: “Herefordshire Council chose Shaw Healthcare as its partner to manage and develop the Councils' care homes for older people after a rigorous evaluation process. We've found Shaw to be a helpful and understanding partner who is managing the agreed change of service delivery in a timely and sensitive manner.”

If Devon County Council’s Executive endorse the recommendations next week, there begins a period of exclusive negotiations. Key areas in the negotiations will include detailed future use of the transferred sites, how affected staff currently employed by the Council will transfer to the provider with their existing conditions of employment maintained, as well as performance of contract measures and ongoing monitoring mechanisms.

NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS:

A copy of David Johnstone’s report to the County Council’s Executive is available at: http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/democracycommunities/decision_making/c ma/cma_document.htm?cmadoc=agenda_exc_20070529.html

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