2015/16 ACS Purchasing Rates

1. Care Home standard spot purchasing rates for residential and nursing care

Rate Per Week (£) / 2014/15 Current
SCC Price / 2015/16
New SCC Price / FNC
(Funded by the NHS) / Total
2015/16 Price / NOTE
£ / £ / £
Residential - Standard Rate / 382 / 390 / 390
Residential - Special Needs / 527 / 538 / 538
Nursing - Standard Rate / 407 / 415 / 110.89 / 525.89 / 1
Nursing - Special Needs / 527 / 538 / 110.89 / 648.89 / 1

Note 1 – The DoH has not yet published the 2015/16 FNC rate so the 2014/15 rate has been used above.

See annex one for definitions.

If a customer is reviewed as moving between categories (e.g. moving from standard to special needs rate) the increase in payment will be backdated to the date of the care needs review.

2. Care Home non standard spot purchasing rates for residential and nursing care

There are a number of client groups where care home services are currently paid at rates other than the standard rates. For 2015/16 these will increase by 1%, except where the 2014/15 rate was below £527 per person per week in which case a 2% increase will apply.

3. Block Contracts for care services (excluding divested services)

Services covered by existing block contracts will be updated to reflect any pre agreed inflation rates where they are identified in the contract documentation. Where rates are not preset in the contract, the contract value will be subject to the same conditions as set out in point 2 above ie these will increase by 1%, except where the 2014/15 rate was below £527 per person per week in which case a 2% increase will apply.

4. Home Care Services

Rate
Time scale / Base rate / enhanced / hard to reach
Activity assumption / 80% of activity / 10% of activity / 10% of activity
Rate / £ / £ / £
per hour / 14.48 / 16.20 / 18.98
3/4 hour / 10.86 / 12.15 / 14.23
half hour / 7.24 / 8.10 / 9.49

5. Very Sheltered Housing

The rate for domiciliary care in very sheltered housing schemes will increase by 2%.

6. Community Based Services (Day services)

The rate for community-based services will increase by 2%.

7. Supported Housing / Supported Living Schemes

The contract price will be subject to a 2% increase.

  1. Infrastructure Grant Payments

These grants are traditionally used to fund non purchased care activity within voluntary sector organisations. Examples of the use of this grant include the overheads and administrative costs, and information, advice preventative services.

For 2014/15 such grants will not be increased from current levels.

9. Other Services

A 0% increase will be applied to all other services.

10. Out of county placements

Increases to out of county placements will be in line with inflation allowance advised by the applicable host authority.

Annex One

Criteria for new pricing higher bands in care homes

  1. Residential Standard Care (Suffolk)

In the Care Quality Commission’s Essential Standards of Quality and Safety, a care home is defined as a place where personal care and accommodation are provided together. People may live in the service for short or long periods. For many people, it is their sole place of residence and so it becomes their home, although they do not legally own or rent it. Care is available 24 hours per day. The service includes:

  • Accommodation
  • Health and personal care
  • Social activities associated with daily living
  • Domestic provision including all meals and snacks, laundry and cleaning
  • Sustaining the quality of life for individuals in a dignified manner
  1. Residential special needs (Suffolk)

This description is for an individual, usually an older person.

  1. The person will have a diagnosis of dementia, other mental illness or similar condition that has been formally assessed by an appropriate clinician.
  2. Additionally the person will exhibit behaviours that are not normally socially acceptable that may put themselves or others at unacceptable risk; some of these behaviours are:
  • An habitual need to leave their home and walk into the streets
  • Uninhibited/sexual behaviour
  • Display inappropriate repetitive behaviour
  • Make repetitious and/or loud verbal noises for no reason that is distressing to others
  • Have inappropriate toilet habits
  • Inability to recognise and use appropriately daily living objects i.e. objects such and knives and forks.
  • Have significant loss of physical function
  • Will be challenging to staff while they are being assisted.

Because of these behaviours the person will require as appropriate:

  • Regular assistance and attention to maintain a dignified appearance
  • Regular assistance throughout every day to maintain and monitor health
  • Regular assistance with all necessary mobility including transfers from bed to chair and chair to bed this could include hoisting
  • Regular assistance with food preparation and eating
  • Regular assistance with maintaining personal hygiene
  • Regular and practical assistance throughout every day to maximise interest and engagement in daily living activities
  • Regular assistance to maintain involvement in the wider community
  • Assistance to maintain communication skills and self determination and may require staff to be conversant in other communication methods i.e. signing.

To be eligible for the enhanced rate the criteria in point 2.a must apply and at least two or more of the behaviours as described in point 2.b.

  1. Nursing Standard Care (Suffolk)

Nursing Home care is defined as paragraph 1, with the additional requirement for nursing staff to be in attendance to meet the nursing needs of residents.

The definition of nursing needs is where a person's health is such that one or more of the following procedures is required periodically over twenty-four hours:

  • administration of medication by injection;
  • dressing to an open or closed wound;
  • artificial feeding;
  • intensive rehabilitation following surgery or a debilitating disease which is likely to continue for some time;
  • management of complex prostheses or appliances.

A widening of these criteria may be required to incorporate other nursing activities.

  1. Nursing special needs (Suffolk)

The descriptions in paragraph 2 also apply to this category when they coincide with the requirement for standard nursing care (3).

  1. Funded Nursing Care (FNC)

This is a sum of money paid to the registered care home (with nursing) from the Clinical Commissioning Groups, when a customer’s nursing needs has been identified as part of their comprehensive needs assessment and included in their care plan.

1