North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership

Changes are being made to the way North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership (NAHSCP) provides Care at Home services for people in North Ayrshire.

From June 2024, all service users who ask NAHSCP to make care arrangements on their behalf will have their service provided by North Ayrshire Council’s in-house Care at Home team.

Care at Home services in North Ayrshire are currently provided using a mixed model of in-house and purchased care to over 2,000 people across the mainland localities and on the islands of Arran and Cumbrae. The Care at Home service is a vital lifeline, providing personal care and practical supports with health and social care needs to a range of people, ensuring they can remain living safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible.

The in-house Care at Home team currently provides the majority of the care provided to people across North Ayrshire, with some receiving care from one of three providers currently contracted to provide these services on NAHSCP’s behalf.

A decision has been taken by the North Ayrshire Integration Joint Board that all Care at Home services will be delivered by the in-house Care at Home team from June 2024 when the current contracts end. This affects those Care at Home services currently delivered by 1st Homecare, TLC Scotland and Delight Supported Living.

The change will ensure a fair approach to care provision across North Ayrshire and provide long term stability and quality of care provision. The in-house Care at Home service has experienced consistently high grading from the Care Inspectorate, which is the regulatory body in Scotland for social care quality of care standards.

People in receipt of care services who will be directly affected by this change have been contacted by NAHSCP to provide information about how the change will affect them, what their options are regarding the care that they receive now and in the future, and to offer assurances that the Partnership is working closely with their current care provider(s) to ensure that any disruption to the care and support they receive is minimised.

NAHSCP is also committed to securing future employment for the care provider(s) staff, and as such is holding a series of events to provide advice and guidance for these staff over the coming weeks. If you currently work in Care at Home services in North Ayrshire and are employed by one of the affected care providers, and would like more information on attending an event, please contact Ms June Gorman by calling 01294 310656 or emailing junegorman@north-ayrshire.gov.uk.

The Care at Home service supports some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. The Partnership is incredibly proud of the quality of service it is able to offer residents in North Ayrshire and looks forward to strengthening this approach in the future.

Councillor Margaret Johnson, IJB member and Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care at North Ayrshire Council, said: “The decision to bring our Care at Home services back in house was not taken lightly. However, after careful scrutiny of the available options for the future of provision of these services it was clear that this option would allow the increased flexibility and assurance around the stability and quality of service provision that is required to provide the best possible care to service users.

“Our in-house Care at Home service was awarded a rating of ‘Very Good’ in a recent inspection by the Care Inspectorate, illustrating the high standard of care provided by the team, which we hope will go some way to reassuring anyone who may have concerns.

“We understand that this might be a worrying time for those affected and their families, and we would like to assure anyone affected by this change that the safety and wellbeing of service users is always our utmost priority and that every effort will be made to ensure minimal impact on the services they receive.”

February 28 2024