Worry over care home finances
IF ALLIED HEALTHCARE RUNS OUT OF MONEY VULNERABLE PEOPLE ACROSS LONDON COULD LOSE SUPPORT
A COMPANY which provides invaluable home care for the elderly and vulnerable across numerous London boroughs is at risk of not being able to deliver its services after the end of November, according to the Care Quality Commission.
The problems became clear when Allied Healthcare restructured its debts earlier this year with a Company Voluntary Arrangement, blaming a “challenging” environment for the social care sector.
Boroughs including Hillingdon, Ealing and Wandsworth commission services from the company.
Andrea Sutcliffe CBE, chief inspector of adult social care at the Care Quality Commission (CQC), explained she and her colleagues have been monitoring the situation.
She said: “Allied Healthcare has been able to confirm funding until November 30, 2018.
“However, we have not received adequate assurance that the company has, or will have, the ongoing funding or new investment necessary to ensure the business can operate beyond this date.
“We have encouraged Allied Healthcare to provide us with a realistic financially backed plan to support the future sustainability of the business, and given them every opportunity to do so, but they have failed to provide adequate assurance regarding future funding.”
The CQC wrote to all 84 councils that have a contract with Allied Healthcare for home care services, including Wandsworth, Ealing and Hillingdon.
A Wandsworth Council spokesman said: “We are aware of the latest situation with this company having been formally notified by the CQC at the start of last week.
“There were similar warnings from the regulator earlier this year and so we have been monitoring the situation since then and working closely with the company to ensure that the small number of people in Wandsworth who receive their services continue to receive safe, appropriate and high quality care, and we have contingency arrangements in place if these are required.”
A statement issued by Allied Healthcare blasted the CQC’s warnings as “premature and unwarranted”.
It reads: “We have demonstrated throughout our discussions with the regulator that Allied Healthcare’s operations are sustainable and safe, that we have secured a potential replacement of our credit facility, that there is no risk to continuity of care and that we have a long-term business plan in place that will continue to deliver quality care across the UK.
“The CQC has disregarded these assurances in spite of the robust evidence we have provided.”
A Hillingdon Council spokesperson said: “We have two people who receive care packages from Allied Healthcare, or a parent company. We have made arrangements with the Allied and our two service users to ensure that a safe, alternative provision will be available, should it be needed.”