Talking Tenders - Care at Home with South Lanarkshire Council.

Care at Home services assist the supported person to live as independently as possible at home through the provision of personal and non-personal care and support.

SLC is in the process of implementing a new Home First service across South Lanarkshire. These new integrated team’s, co-ordinate and promote a ‘Home First’ reablement and rehabilitation approach through ongoing assessment of need, following discharge from hospital or a community referral. By doing so we aim to maximise the opportunities and outcomes for individuals and support people to live independently at home with choice and control.

Once fully established, most service users requiring a Care at Home and Housing Support Service will be initially supported by the Home First service, for a period of up to 6 weeks. This will provide an opportunity to maximise the individual’s independence and confirm their ongoing care and support needs. Should there be a need for ongoing support, services would then be sought from both the in-house Care at Home service and from externally commissioned providers.

The Council currently provides or commissions over 35,000 hours of Care at Home for adults and older people each week, with 30% of Care at Home provided in-house and 70% carried out by external Care at Home providers. The need for services is expected to increase in line with the growing needs of an ageing population.

To ensure the continued resilience of Care at Home service provision, SLC require suitable providers to continue to support the existing internal provision, across the South Lanarkshire region. It is anticipated the new contract will be a Procured Services Arrangement (PSA), to allow flexibility of supply from multiple providers, and is expected to commence from Spring 2024. The PSA is expected to last between 10 and 15 years.