1. Who are the domiciliary care providers that are currently registered with Sandwell Council?

The domiciliary care providers currently registered with Sandwell Council are as follows:

All & Small Ltd

Allied Healthcare

Alternative Care

Aspects Care Ltd

Careview

Carewatch

Causeway Care

Charter

Cherish Home Care

Claimar

Clamoore Home Based Care Ltd

Crossroads Care

Dorcas Home Care

Excel Support Services

Focus Futures (part of Midland Heart)

L & A

New Hope Health and Home Care Services Ltd

Proline

Sandwell Asian Family Support Service

Sandwell Multi Care

Selborne Care

Sevacare (UK)

Smethwick ASRA

Theo Langston Care

Tipton Home Care

Victoria Visiting Venture

West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre

West Midlands Home Based Care

  1. I believe you have a contracted list (block & spot contracts)

and then a secondary registered list, which providers are on each

list?

You refer to a contracted list of block and spot contracts, and then a secondary list. The Council let its Contracts for non specialist domiciliary care in 2004 and these have been extended a number of times. The Providers, of which there are 11, have spot Contracts although they each are commissioned to deliver a share of any given non specialist work within two towns in Sandwell. These 11 Providers are as follows:

All and Small

Allied Healthcare

Alternative Care

Carewatch

Charter Care

Claimar Care

L&A Care

Proline

Tipton Homecare

West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre

West Midlands Hombased Care

Block Contract Providers are the following:

Causeway Care

Sandwell Crossroads

Seva Care

Smethwick Asra

VVV

West Bromwich African Caribbean Resource Centre

The registered list you refer to identifies those organisations who have been approved via a formal process to provide non residential care services. These providers do not have any guarantees of work and would be commissioned on a spot basis. I attach a list, which includes other non-residential services.

3. When does the current set of contracts for providers for spot &

block expire?

In terms of the 11 providers who deliver non-specialist work, their Contracts expire on 31st August 2010. However, whilst this is the date of expiry, there may be an extension.

The Block Contracts listed expire as follows:

ACRC – 31.08.2010

Causeway Care – 31.03.2011

Smethwick Asra – 30.09.2010

Sandwell Crossroads – 30.09.2010

VVV – 30.09.2010

Seva Care – 08.10.2010

4. Is a domiciliary care provider required to be on your list to provide

care to the PCT or people via Direct Payments?

I am afraid you will need to contact the PCT directly to establish the way they commission services. In terms of this Authority giving people a Direct payment, we would give people a list of the approved providers if they wanted assistance in relation to domiciliary agencies, but as it is money paid directly to the individual, s/he is entitled to use whatever agency s/he wants, irrespective of whether they appear on the approved provider list.

5. What is the maximum, minimum and mean price that each provider

charges Sandwell Council?

I am afraid I am unable to provide information in relation to individual providers and there prices; however, I attach a spreadsheet anonymised with the prices identified. This is current at the time of writing. We are expecting a further few providers to get back to us to update costs, but they have not at the moment.

In terms of the rates for those providers awarded the non-specialist contracts, they are fixed prices as follows:

1 hour - £13.04

¾ hour - £9.78

½ hour - £6.52

¼ hour - £3.26

6. Could I have a hierarchal diagram of the roles within Adult

Services?

Please see attached structure charts. The charts drill down to manager

level. In respect of the administrative structure it is not possible to provide

a breakdown as the service is currently subject to a restructure. What we

can however confirm is that we have a structure of business support

officers throughout the organisation who are managed by business support

co-ordinators.

7. Is there going to be any significant change in the future to the

way you procure to these providers?

As you may be aware, there are currently many changes within the social care market, the introduction of Personal Budgets will undoubtedly change the way in which services are commissioned and procured in the future. The Council is reviewing its position in regard to contracting and where appropriate seeking to move away from Block Contracts, thus ensuring the ability of People Who Use Services to fully determine which providers support them.

8. Is there going to be any significant change in the future to

Adults Services in terms of procurement to domiciliary

Providers?

In accordance with the answer given above, it is likely that there will be changes in the procurement of Domiciliary Care Services; however, at present these have not been determined.

If you are not satisfied with the way your information request has been responded to you may ask for the decision to be reviewed by writing to the:

Service Insight Team

Freedom of Information Request

Sandwell MBC

Sandwell Council House

P O Box 2374

Oldbury

West Midlands

B69 3DE

Tel: - 0845 359 7510

Email:

Adult and Community Services

Senior Management Structure – August 2009