Radicalism and exciting times in delivering services as an LATC
October 27, 2010
The Essex Cares LATC model as many Councils are looking to follow focuses on reducing ‘back room’ costs and making other efficiencies. The exciting aspect of the LATC model as with the new Social Enterprises is the freedom to trade and act quickly in responding to the fast changing social and health care markets and create service models which deliver income generation opportunities to add to the required efficiencies.
Nearly 18 months on since going live Essex Cares is looking at how to redesign service delivery in order to forge partnerships with health providers and consider how the lay of the land will be post the Coalition Government announcements on health and social care. Creating preventive models and offering solution based service models will be interesting to see in terms of ‘middle england’ deciding to buy services as well as go through traditional social service routes.
What is evident is that the demographics of local communities will see many self funders as well as those formally financially assessed by Councils looking for services that are quickly accessible and delivering a complete range of services through as few ‘assessors’ or ‘providers’ as possible. Put simply the advent of call centres, life lines with quick and easy reach to telecare, equipment, and reablement will be key. How many people in their 303, 40s. or 50s have the same experience relating to their parents? All they want is someone to provide a quick and easy package into their parents home with the family retaining a level of control and choice. Yes, you can go through formal the local authority FACS criteria but how many people would pay for a fast effective service covering all your needs?
These are the sort of questions that Essex Cares as a commercial trading company is free to pursue – exciting times for progressive providers exist if they can understand their local markets, identify the right partnerships,investors and products.
(Mark is Managing Director of Essex Cares – www.essexcares.org )
Generation of Political avoidance as ‘baby-boomers’ big bang is now!
October 21, 2010
On average around 100,ooo people a year reach the age of 65. In 2012 Olympic year a spike will see 850,000 people reach this landmark. The reality of an ageing population is now here which politicians over the past 30 years have failed to prepare for and even today fail to acknowledge. Forget credit crunch and spending reviews the tidal wave of demand for health and social care will place extreme challenges on our public sector services at precisely the wrong time in terms of funding availability. The Coalition Government have tacitly acknowledged this time bomb of need by transferring £2 billion from the health to social care budgets for old age but this will be drop in the ocean as the older population place increasingly demands on services.
Pre the Public Sector Spending Review the 2020 Public Service Trust in their excellent Vision of Public Services confirm that we need to increase GDP by 4-6% to meet demand for an ageing society and tackling child poverty. The gap between demand and resources is set to grow dramatically requiring a new model and deal for health and social care which recognises a two-tier system between the ‘have and have nots’.
The failure of our five year term parliaments is that Governments for all to long have focused on the short term and not the long term issues. Royal Commissions on old age have come and gone but no Government has been brave enough to grasp the nettle on how to address the old age bulge which is now upon us. The excellent Wanless Report published by the King’s Fund in 2006 warned us of this crisis which politicians of the day need to address. We can talk about budget reductions and cuts but when will we take responsibility as a Society for providing the service base which the older population of this country is now going to place pressures never seen before?
This should not be a political issue rather an all party approach to finding extremely challenging solutions at a time of scarcity. Do we not owe this to the ‘baby boomer’ generation?
Lloyd delivers key note presentation at the National Home Care Conference
October 10, 2010
On Monday 11th October Mark Lloyd was a key note speaker at the 2010 National Home Care Annual Conference in London. Mark presented on the benefits of the LATC Model – the experience of Essex Cares. Later on the same programme an Essex Cares colleague Jon Manzoni presented on the Reablement service within Essex Cares. Some 60 Council in-house provider services were represented at the event which also heard from Richard Jones, President of ADASS in 2010.
Key themes raised by Lloyd were the urgent need for in-house providers to review their business base and consider one of the externalisation routes including social enterprise or LATC with an urgent need to diversify to respond both to the Government White Paper but also the demographic ‘time-bomb’ of old age which is now a reality with the baby-boom generation reaching retirement age.
Lloyd made clear the benefits of an LATC with the freedom to trade and ability to respond to the fast changing market place.