A report reviewing the effectiveness and value for money of the current contracts and making recommendations to ensure best use of public funds going forward and opportunities to maximise the utilisation of new contracts.

The Executive Director of Social Care and Health submitted a report providing the Committee with a review of the effectiveness and value for money of the current Nursing and Nursing Dementia contracts and making recommendations to ensure best use of public funds going forward and opportunities to maximise the utilisation of new contracts.  Details of Local Nursing Home Provision was attached to the report at Appendix 1 and a Procurement Timetable was attached to the report at Appendix 2.

The report explained that the Council currently commissioned 68 Block Beds under two contracts for Nursing and Nursing Dementia provision.  Both contracts were due to expire, or had the option to be terminated, in the very near future.  Placement trends from the previous three financial years had evidenced that demand for these types of nursing home placements exceeded the capacity of both blocks, highlighting continued demand.  In addition, financial analysis had demonstrated that even with a higher rate per bed then was currently charged, new block contracts would generate cost avoidances compared to purchasing (non-block) spot placements from the market.

In order to ensure that supply matched the continued demand for nursing dementia care home placements, and to assist with speedy hospital discharges, the report recommended that the Council ran a procurement to commission a number of block contracts securing 30 nursing dementia beds.  The procurement would not be limited to care homes in the Borough. 

The report stated that work had already begun on the procurement, including drafting of new services specifications and contract documents, invitations to tender would be advertised on 18 January 2021 and the procurement process would ensure that the new contracts would be in place for, and begin on, 1 October 2021 at the latest.  It was recommended that the block contracts were for a period of two years with the option to extend for a further four years, in blocks of two years.  Should a Care Home that already had a block contract with the Council be successful during the procurement the current placements could be subsumed into the new block contract filling it immediately.  Should a Care Home that did not have a block contract be successful at procurement, the report recommended that the Council paid for the full block contract from the start of the new contracts. 

The Committee discussed the report and Councillor Jones proposed that an additional recommendation be added asking officers to carry out a feasibility study to establish the business case, or otherwise, for the direct provision of nursing dementia residential care in Reading.

Resolved –

(1)     That procurement of new block contracts of up to 15 beds each to total 30 beds (for 01/10/2021), each contract to be for the term of 2 years with the option to extend for up to a further 4 years, be agreed;

(2)     That the Executive Director Social Care and Health, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Adult Social Care, be granted delegated authority to enter into a contract with the successful tenderer(s) for the support/care services to be provided through the above framework agreement, at the stage of contract award (close of Q4 2020/2021);

(3)     That a feasibility study be undertaken by the Council to establish the business case, or otherwise, for the direct provision of nursing dementia residential care in Reading.