Agenda item

Report of the Director of Social Care and Health

Further to Minute No. 19 of 22 June 2017, the Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Social Care and Health that sought approval to commence a procurement exercise for the provision of an Electronic Case Management (ECM) System for utilisation by contracted Lead Domiciliary Care Providers; and which detailed the proposed procurement approach under Liverpool City Region (LCR) joint working arrangements and the linkage to the new Domiciliary Care contracts.

Decision Made: That

(1)      the commencement of a procurement exercise for the provision of an Electronic Case Management System for a period of three years, as detailed in the report, be approved;

(2)      the following decisions be delegated to the Director of Social Care and Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member - Adult Social Care:-

(a)      agreeing the specification for the Electronic Case Management system;

(b)      agreeing the specific procurement process (i.e. whether to utilise an existing contract framework, or for Sefton to undertake its own process to procure the system);

(c)      the approach to be taken to funding “open access” to the ECM system, as detailed in Section 5.5 of the report (i.e. whether Sefton Council meets the costs or the successful Electronic Case Management System supplier will be able to directly charge Service Users, Families etc. for access to the system); and

(d)      the awarding of the “contract” following the tender evaluation exercise.

Reasons for the Decision:

On 22 June 2017 the Cabinet approved the commencement of a procurement exercise for Domiciliary Care services, from 1 May 2018, via Liverpool City Region joint commissioning. This process is currently being conducted jointly with Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council. The new contracts awarded will encompass a more outcome based model of service and will ensure a greater focus on the delivery of a quality service to Service Users.

It has been identified that the implementation of an Electronic Case Management system can support these aims by ensuring that there is better monitoring of service delivery, such as visit durations and activities conducted during those visits, thus ensuring that any complaints and issues raised can be fully investigated as the system will be able to provide real-time and verified information.

The system can also support future service delivery changes such as revising the payment process and mechanisms to Providers, and wider strategic work such as analysing service delivery trends and needs.

The system will be purchased by Sefton Council for contracted Domiciliary Care Providers to implement during their initial three-year contract term. Following this the Providers will be required to fund the system for any additional period should their contract be extended.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

1.       Contractually obliging Providers to purchase and pay for the system – this option was rejected as it has been identified that it will be more cost effective for Sefton Council to purchase the system as opposed to Providers purchasing it who would then request an increase to their fee level. In addition, by purchasing the system Sefton Council and Knowsley Council can ensure that the same system is operated across all Providers, thus ensuring a consistency in the type of data being recorded, which can then be used to analyse trends across both Sefton and the LCR and be used to inform wider strategic work such as the quantification of the current and future demand for services. The purchasing of the system re-iterates the Authorities’ commitment to investing in the Domiciliary Care sector and supporting providers to deliver quality services; and

2.       Maintaining the Status Quo – this was not considered a viable option as within the new Domiciliary Care contracts and service model there is a commitment to implement such a system in order to deliver the wider aims of improving the quality and monitoring of the commissioned services. At present it is difficult to effectively monitor services as this requires analysis of paper records, for example where concerns are raised concerning late/missed visits.