Social care crisis as 13,000 elderly are left in limbo
Watchdog warns future of debt-hit firm is ‘at risk’
THOUSANDS of elderly patients are at risk after a warning that one of Britain’s largest home care providers could be on the brink of collapse.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) fears Allied Healthcare may stop operating by the end of the month – leaving 13,000 Britons in need of alternative assistance.
Inspectors have written to the 84 local authorities affected in England to warn of a ‘credible risk of service disruption’.
The troubled company, which is owned by a German private equity firm, assists patients in everyday tasks from getting dressed to managing medication.
Councils could be forced to find alternative services for thousands of residents, with fears some could slip through the net. Last night, charities described the potential collapse as indicative of a social care system in crisis.
George McNamara, of the older people’s charity Independent Age, said: ‘This is a deeply worrying time for the thousands of older people and their families up and down the country who rely on Allied Healthcare as a vital lifeline of care and support.
‘The Government must play an active role in bringing together all parties and if necessary step in and do all possible to ensure older people do not become the victims of a broken system.’
Allied Healthcare is currently responsible for up to 10 per cent of all home care services in some local authorities, the CQC said.
The regulator revealed it has been monitoring the firm to ensure continuity of care since it applied for a company voluntary arrangement over debts in May.
The CQC, which is only responsible for care in England, said it had a legal duty to warn councils as they had a duty of care.
But Allied, which across the UK employs more than 8,000 domestic and healthcare staff and looks after 13,000 patients, insisted its operations are ‘sustainable and safe’ and claimed that the watchdog’s action was ‘premature and unwarranted’. Andrea Sutcliffe, CQC chief inspector of adult social care, said the body had been forced to take action as it had received no funding reassurances beyond November 30.
She said: ‘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.’
Miss Sutcliffe said the CQC would continue to work closely with the Department of Health, which insisted there would be no disruption, the NHS and Local Government Association.
She added: ‘It is of course possible that the company is able to avoid service disruption, and, if that is the case, we will revise our position accordingly.’
Local authorities, including Essex, Kent, Somerset and Hertfordshire, would have to locate alternative provision for the 9,300 people in England they commissioned services for. They will also be responsible for 1,200 people who pay for their own care, should the firm go bust.
Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said patients, particularly older and disabled people, were paying an ‘increasingly heavy price’ for workforce shortages and inadequate funding of social care. She added: ‘It’s bad enough when a care home operator gets into trouble, but in some ways it is worse still when this happens with home care, because the population of those in need is highly dispersed and the risk of overlooking a vulnerable older person is greater.’
An Allied Healthcare spokesman said: ‘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.’