The Southern Trust’s homecare model is failing while vulnerable people remain without the care they need, the Independent Health and Care Providers (IHCP) has warned.
The intervention follows confirmation from Health Minister Mike Nesbitt that more staff are leaving the Trust’s homecare service than joining it.
In a written Assembly Answer, the Minister said the Trust had advised that it “continues to see a higher number of staff leaving the Homecare service than those starting”.
This is despite rolling recruitment, monthly recruitment events and targeted campaigns in areas experiencing higher levels of unmet need.
IHCP said the disclosure raises serious questions about the Trust’s homecare approach at a time when independent providers report that care packages are being restricted through brokerage, visits are being shortened and call frequency reduced.
IHCP Chief Executive Pauline Shepherd said: “The Minister’s answer confirms that the Southern Trust is losing more homecare staff than it recruits while unmet need continues to grow.
“This is not successful modernisation. It is a model moving in the wrong direction while vulnerable people wait for care, families carry greater responsibility and hospital beds remain occupied because support is not available at home.
“The Trust cannot claim that homecare capacity is unavailable while restricting the release of packages to independent providers who have staff ready to deliver care.”
Figures already in the public domain indicate that the Trust’s internal homecare service cost approximately £39.74 per hour in 2023/24, while independent provision was commissioned at around half that rate.
The internal service also recorded more than 41,000 sickness days at a reported cost of more than £2.5 million and approximately 550 missed visits.
Ms Shepherd added: “Cutting care packages or delaying homecare does not remove the need. It simply transfers the pressure to families, hospitals and emergency departments.
“There must now be an urgent independent review of the Southern Trust’s homecare approach, publication of the true level of unmet need and an end to blanket reductions in care packages or visit times without an individual reassessment.”
A spokesperson for the Southern Trust said: “The Southern Trust is experiencing significant demographic pressures with the number of older people rising at a faster rate than any other Trust area in Northern Ireland. We are facing enormous and rapidly increasing cost and staffing challenges in trying to meet the significant and rising demand for Home care services, as demand continues to outstrip supply.
“Despite the pressures, Trust Home Care staff and our Independent Sector partners, are working hard to support more than 4,550 people every day, delivering around 60,000 hours of care each week.
“Unfortunately, the current services are unable to meet the full level of need in our population, due to workforce shortages across both the Trust and Independent Sectors. Social care, like many other professions, is experiencing workforce pressures, particularly in rural areas where it is more difficult to recruit and retain staff. We are continuously working to improve our range of community services and actively recruit staff.
“We greatly value the contribution of and proactively work in partnership with our Independent Sector Home care providers to prevent admission to hospital, support timely discharge and find solutions to help as many local people as possible to remain at home.
“Following a request from our trade unions to offer colleagues a more predictable income and access to other employment benefits, we have worked to move more home care workers guaranteed hours contracts. As a result 76% of Trust Home Care staff now have contracts and 24% have chosen a bank contract. We value the really important work that our home care colleagues do, and we welcome the partnership approach to this programme of work with our trade unions.
“We are committed to modernising and strengthening home care services to better support people in their own homes and reduce pressure on hospitals and care homes. By streamlining services, we want to help more people to receive personalised support to remain in the comfort of their own home, whilst easing pressure on hospitals and care homes. We will continue to work closely with the Independent Sector to explore new service models that better align capacity and demand, maximise efficiency and address differing challenges across urban and rural areas.
“We acknowledge that waiting on home care support can be challenging for service users and families and ask for understanding as we work through these challenges. All care packages are kept under review and key workers are available to offer advice and support to families with any issues or concerns. We also appeal for families, where they can, to support with caring for their loved ones or potentially to accept alternative care while waiting for a longer-term option.”
