Funding support for specialist brain unit
CITY chiefs have agreed to pay thousands more every week towards a specialist brain injury unit in the East End.
That’s after bosses at the acquired brain injury unit in Greenfield Park Care Home called for a review of a contract which has been in place with the council since 2010.
The care home is funded to provide 50 social care beds available for Glasgow City Council, including 10 for acquired brain injury patients, 10 for physical and mental health issues and 30 for nursing support.
Glasgow’s contracts committee agreed to pay an extra £72,739 every year over the next three years for the brain injury unit alone to avoid losing the service.
And Glasgow City Council will also backdate £111,184 to compensate the service after officers admitted there should have been a contract review at least two years ago.
David Williams, the chief officer of the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) said: “The provider requested a fee rate uplift.
“When we don’t hear any bad news and tend to see relatively good care inspectorate reports some service providers do tend to slip to the bottom of the priority list for contract reviews.
“This unit caters for a very specific and specialist need for individuals who have suffered a level of trauma that has led them to this unit. The fee rate of 2010 is unsustainable.
“We’re very mindful within social work services of the decision making that national providers can take where they might perceive it to be a business risk too far if the fee rate was not satisfactory.”
He added that the council had to dip its hands into its pockets and “do the right thing”.
Since 2010, the council has been paying £1049 per week for each of the patients that use the brain injury unit.
But following yesterday’s decision, that will go up by £139.50 for every patient every week for the next three years.
Norman MacLeod, who is a member of the contracts committee said that the contract with the brain unit was valuable and “one of the better ones”.
He added: “The reason for this change and the backpay is that this service was missed off a list of services that were to get an enhancement.
“This is a service for very special cases for our citizens.”