The government has announced plans for more personalised support from familiar carers for people who receive care at home.
It is hoped that people will see the same carer more regularly, so they can get to know needs and spot changes sooner. Furthermore, care workers will spend less time travelling between visits, with more predictable rounds closer to home.
The government has revealed new plans to organise social care around local neighbourhoods.
Councils will be encouraged to commission home care across smaller geographical areas, with one or two main providers serving each neighbourhood.
New guidance and toolkits are due to be published in the spring to support local authorities move to neighbourhood-based models of home care commissioning and the government will work with local authorities over the coming months to track and support their progress.
As a result, care workers will spend their working day in a much smaller area, rather than travelling long distances between visits and people receiving care will have a better chance of seeing the same carers regularly and building relationships with people who know them, their needs and their families. This should result in better care as care workers will be better able to notice changes in someone’s health or wellbeing sooner, helping people get the right support before problems escalate.
Research by the Health Innovation Network South West into care rounds across six providers in Bristol found that reorganising existing visits into geographical zones could potentially deliver the same care with 35 per cent less staff time and 65 per cent less driving.
Minister of State for Social Care and Mental Health Alison McGovern said: "We have a growing, ageing population and an NHS facing significant pressures. We are turning it around, but our NHS is at risk of being overburdened. Our National Care Service is the answer, and neighbourhood commissioning is a step towards this.
"Commissioning social care by neighbourhoods will help people stay well, independent and at home for longer. Homecare will be more personalised, and people will see familiar carers who understand their needs and priorities. Carers won’t travel as far, saving time instead of rushing from visit to visit and carrying out set tasks in an impersonal way.
"Under our plans, social care will work in lockstep with our NHS, better care at home means fewer unnecessary trips to hospital. We will work with councils and our NHS to deliver more care in our community, care that is proactive, planned and preventative, as we continue to lay the foundations for our National Care Service."
Dr Jane Townson OBE, Chief Executive of the Homecare Association said: "We welcome the move to neighbourhood commissioning, which reflects what the Homecare Association has long argued: commissioning is the key to quality, fair work and better outcomes.
"To succeed, it must come with fees that cover the cost of care, predictable work and payment for whole rounds rather than contact minutes. People must also keep a real choice over who supports them.
"Done well, neighbourhood commissioning can mean familiar careworkers who know the people they support, less time on the road and more secure jobs. These relationships help careworkers spot changes early and keep people well at home. We look forward to working with government, councils and the NHS to develop guidance that puts these principles into practice."
