Home care reassurances

HEALTH chiefs in Rochdale have moved to offer reassurances after a warning was issued over the future of a home care company.

Allied Healthcare specialises in providing specialist services in the borough for people with conditions including dementia, learning disabilities and mental health conditions, as well as assisting with personal care.

But ongoing financial difficulties meant it was forced to restructure its debts earlier this year.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has warned Rochdale Council and dozens of other local authorities over the company’s worrying financial situation.

The health watchdog says it has not received ‘adequate assurances the firm ‘has or will have, the ongoing funding or new investment necessary’ to continue beyond the end of this month.

Company bosses say they are ‘surprised and deeply disappointed’ by the decision though, which it calls ‘premature and unwarranted.’

And those who rely on its services in Rochdale have been told by a senior town hall officer they should not be unduly alarmed.

Tracey Harrison, the council’s assistant director for commissioning (adults), said: “We are working with Allied Healthcare, the CQC and the Association of Directors of Social Services to urgently clarify and address the situation.

“In partnership with NHS Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group, we recently implemented a robust new framework to ensure there is sufficient resilience within the local care system to meet demand for services.”

In a written statement Care minister Caroline Dineage moved to offer reassurances said that the CQC had not ‘taken the decision lightly.’