Home Care in Suffolk

What is happening to Home Care in Suffolk?

Over the last few month people receiving care in Suffolk will have had a letter through their door telling them that from September 2015 their home care provider will be changing.
This is because Home Care in SuffolkSuffolk County council have awarded Support to Live at Home contracts to a smaller group of providers and given these providers a geographical area that they are responsible for. If you are in the area for a specified provider, that provider automatically becomes your new care company.

So what happens to those people that have been receiving care for many years and have built up relationships with their care company and their care workers?

These are their options:

Move to new provider and Social Services will continue to pay for their care and take care of all bills
Take out a Direct Payment where the money they are entitled to will be paid in to their bank account and they will then organise their own care and arrange to pay their own bills.
Set up an Independent Service Fund (ISF) with the company that they choose to provide their care. This means the Care provider will manage the personal budget for their client and effectively pay themselves.
There does appear to be choice for the individual to still choose who provides their care. Or is there?

Imagine the situation Doris, aged 94, is in. She currently receives care from us that is paid for by Social Services. She is happy with the care that she receives and has her regular carers that she knows and loves. She has now been told that her care provider is changing and as you can imagine is very distressed by this. Who will her carers be? What is this company like? Will they know how to look after her in the way she wants? She has been told that she can use her personal budget, but at the age of 94 and with no family to help support her to do this she does not feel that this will be right for her. She could take out an ISF and use that with us of her choice but again is unsure of what this all means.

So does Doris have choice?

If you or someone you know has found themselves in this situation give My Care at Home a call on 01449 763086 to see how we can help you. You can get further advice from

Social Services, Contact.STLH@suffolk.gov.uk By phone: 0345 600 2077
Age UK 01473 351234
Citizens Advice Bureau 01449 676060
Tagged with: age uk, citizens advice bureau, Home care in Suffolk, independent service fund, ISF, social services