Council assurance on future delivery of home-based respite care

Further to the recent award of the contract for home-based respite, The Highland Council has confirmed arrangements for the introduction of new budgets across the authority.  This will be phased to ensure continuity of the current service, and to enable assessments to take place to meet assessed needs in the areas where services will increase. In addition to Council contracts, there is additional work carried out by Crossroads from their voluntary funding.

Home-based respite involves support to children and vulnerable adults in their own homes, enabling their parents or normal carers to have a break from caring responsibilities. The Highland Council and NHS Highland commit more than £1 million a year to these services.  Caring episodes can involve a few hours or an overnight.

The new service will be provided by Carr Gomm Scotland, a charity and not for profit organisation, established in delivering high quality services in other parts of the country.  However, it should continue to involve the staff, who were previously employed by Crossroads.

Budgets have been allocated on the basis of the local populations across the Council area.  This addresses previous inequity, and means that there will be the same access to services across the authority. 

There have been concerns in some areas, particularly on Skye, about the impact of any reduction in their local budget.   Accordingly, the Council has confirmed  that the changes will be phased over the next two and a half years, and that the current local budgets will be sustained until the end of this financial year.  This will ensure that existing expectations and commitments for respite can be met, and that the new services can be introduced in a planned way over time, ensuring assessed needs are met across Highland.

Councillor Margaret Davidson, Chair of the Housing and Social Work Committee, said: “These changes will be phased.  This gives us time to assess the impact. While we will make more respite care available in many parts of the authority, it is not sensible to introduce these changes quickly, as we need to ensure that needs and expectations are fulfilled in all areas.”

“This phased approach will allow continuity of services, which is important for people and their carers, and also for the staff who provide the service.  This means there should be no sudden changes for people, either in the service that they get, or with regard to the person that provides it.”

Council leaders have also arranged to meet with the local Crossroads groups who previously provided these services.  It is intended that this meeting will acknowledge the excellent local work of Crossroads over many years, and also how this can continue to be fully supported by the Council in the future.