Issue - meetings

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve option 1 to implement a new technology enabled care delivery model under a collaborative approach between Rothercare and an independent sector technology partner.

2.    Approve a competitive procurement process and award of contract  ...  view the full agenda text for item 60

Consideration was given to the report which detailed the options appraisal and sought approval to implement a new Rothercare model where the assistive technology elements of the service would be undertaken by an independent sector technology partner and Rothercare would continue to deliver the core service elements, engaging with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60

Report from the Strategic Director of Adult Care, Housing and Public Health.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve option 1 to implement a new technology enabled care delivery model under a collaborative approach between Rothercare and an independent sector technology partner.

2.    Approve a competitive procurement process and award of contract on the basis of a 5-year initial term. The contract will include potential extensions for up to 3 years (to be taken in any combination). The new arrangements will commence April 2025.

3.    Agree the new charging policy and rates for Rothercare from 2025/26 for existing customers and the policy of applying a new rate to new customers from 2025/26 onwards.

The Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health outlined the Council's assistive technology offer, which was delivered in-house by a dedicated service known as Rothercare. Members were informed that Rothercare provided an end-to-end telecare service, managing referrals, installing equipment, monitoring, and responding to alerts. The service would also procure all technical aspects including both hardware and software. The review of the service aimed to ensure it remained fit for purpose and could respond to future needs and technological advances, including the transition from analogue to digital due to the UK Telecom infrastructure upgrade.

The Cabinet Member outlined that the Council's ambition for Adult Social Care was to deploy and utilise assistive technology to enable the people of Rotherham to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible. Increasing the amount and variety of assistive technology deployed would help to realise and anticipate the model of care by using non-intrusive devices to prevent the deterioration in people's needs whether they were living at home or in supported environments. This type of technology would contribute to the efficient use of resources across Health and Social Care services. The review of the service identified opportunities to address any operational challenges and to remodel the assistive technology offer, as the service could not expand in its current format.

She explained that several options had been explored. One recommended within the report (Option 1) would be a collaborative approach between an independent sector technology partner and Rothercare, which would achieve significant advantages compared to the other three options from the report.

It was explained that under Option 1, Rothercare would continue to handle referrals, triage, monitoring, and response to service, while the assistive technology element would be delivered by a technology partner procured from the independent sector. This partner would be responsible for identifying assistive technology solutions, installation, recycling, disposal, and maintenance of all assistive equipment.

Rothercare was currently funded through a combination of weekly charges to customers and a subsidy from the Housing Revenue Account. The revenue cost associated for the collaborative approach between an independent sector technological partner and Rothercare was estimated at £1.6 million per year. The ongoing service costs would be met through income generated by the service to ensure its sustainability. Consequently, there was a need to revise the charging policy and the associated Rothercare weekly service charge.

The Cabinet Member further explained that it had been proposed to increase the weekly charge from £3.50 to £4.50, representing an additional £1 per week for a 12-month period from 2025 to 2026. Costs would then rise annually in line with fees and charges, covering the costs associated with the ongoing UK's digital infrastructure digital upgrade across the country. Benchmarking with other Local Authorities who delivered similar services indicated that Rothercare charges were significantly lower making the proposed increase reasonable. It was anticipated that the full revenue costs would eventually be recouped through a phased increase in the weekly charge for both existing and new customers, which would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37