Dorset Council

Dorset Council

With so many underlying pressures in the care market, Dorset Council recognised that they needed to tackle the situation through a detailed review of all their commissioned residential costs. As market leaders in the field, they chose Valuing Care to work on both projects, taking a different tact in the two areas to ensure they got the most value added from the work.

Dorset asked Valuing Care to collect information on all their current residential packages and load them onto their Purchaser software to create a Dorset specific cost model. 

Looking across the market they concentrated on two key areas:  

• Older People’s Residential and Nursing Care 
• Learning Disabilities Residential, both in and out of the County

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Central Bedfordshire Council

Central Bedfordshire Council

Over time, Central Bedfordshire have worked with Valuing Care on a number of care costs projects to provide them strategic oversight and transparency of costs in their care market.

In 2021 they again called on the company to work on 2 key projects:.

  • Cost of Care Review for Older People’s Residential and Nursing Care
  • Learning Disability Placement Review using Valuing Care’s Purchaser Software
 

Valuing Care conducting a cost review of care homes for older people within the Central Bedfordshire area. The Council were keen to separate out the additional cost resulting from the COVID pandemic. To facilitate this, Valuing Care requested two years of cost data from care home providers, with aim of calculating the financial impact on operating costs.

Read our full article here.

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Managing Your Complex Care Packages During Rising Cost Pressures

Managing Your Complex Care Packages During Rising Cost Pressures

Budgetary spend on complex packages of care continue to grow with service demand and overall price increases across Continuing Health Care, Learning Disabilities, Physical Disabilities and Mental Health services.

The expectation is that this will grow again in 2022/23, beyond available resources as inflationary cost pressures from staffing, utilities and extra regulation push up provider costs.

With budget pressures so high it is very hard for commissioning managers to determine what the annual percentage increase in complex care packages should be. It can become extremely tricky to balance the need to ensure sustainability whilst also achieving value for money within such a tight inflation envelope.

Over the coming months providers will be writing to request a 5% or 10% increase, each demand will be supported with calculations to justify the uplift. Given the compelling reasons presented by providers it is hard to work out where the line should be drawn.

 

Historically the organisational approach has been to set a standard inflationary uplift which can favour some providers with excessive profits and penalise others that are operating at effective prices. Most authorities have been through a cost reviewing process at some point over the last few years, however the collected data quickly goes out of date if inflationary uplifts are not assigned on a line-by-line cost basis.

Valuing Care’s approach is to assess the value of the current price and assign an appropriate percentage on a cost line basis: the method is supported by the company’s Purchaser software which stores each case’s cost breakdowns and gives commissioners the ability to update cost lines for the relevant inflation, using Valuing Care’s model costs as a guide. 

 

Each case is stored within Purchaser so that details can be saved and uprated easily. Inflation increases can be accurate and reviewed, year on year. By assigning the correct inflation to the cases that need it most, packages remain sustainable and profit levels are capped elsewhere. So, the next time you receive a provider letter demanding an inflation increase on a care package where you do not truly understand the delivery costs contact us to see how Valuing Care’s Purchaser software can put you back in control of the increasingly challenging market.

 
21st January 2022 | Ray Hart
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Newham Council

Newham Council

Newham were keen to meet the requirements and were also aware that it had been some while since they had conducted a full local cost of care survey. Following discussions, Valuing Care set out a bespoke project plan that took the DHSC guidance and combined this with Newham Council’s local needs. In addition, given the timescales, they were keen to bring in a company with experience based on previously completed projects of this nature.

The cost of care project will include the following client groups: 

• Older People’s Residential and Nursing Care 
• Learning Disabilities Residential, both in and out of the County
• Mental Health Residential Packages, both in and out of the Borough

For each spend area, Valuing care will survey the market and produce model rates that meet the conditions set out in the DHSC guidance. With a DHSC deadline of September 2022, Newham Council will be completed well within those timescales with an estimated completion date of June 2022.  

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Independent Age: Choosing the Right Care Home

Independent Age: Choosing the Right Care Home

People often find themselves doing this in a hurry when there’s a health crisis, but it’s a good idea to think about what you’d like sooner rather than later and discuss this with your family or friends.

Where to start
You should start by having a care needs assessment. This will give you more information about the care you need, and help you think about what support would be best for you. 

Choosing a care home to suit your care needs
There are various types of care home available, depending on the level and type of care you need. The outcome of your care needs assessment should give you an idea of which one would be right for you. If you’re moving as a couple, it can be more difficult to find a home to cater for both your needs

Residentail care homes
These offer personal care, including help with washing, eating and drinking, going to the toilet and taking medication. 

Care homes with nursing care
These offer personal care, but also have qualified nurses on duty at all times. They may specialise in particular illnesses or disabilities, such as dementia.

Care homes offering some residential and some nursing care places
These might be a good option if, for example, your condition is likely to deteriorate and you don’t want to move twice. 

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Staffordshire County Council

Staffordshire County Council

Logo for Staffordshire County CouncilValuing Care completed a cost review of Post 16 High Needs Learner (HNL); to develop greater understanding of HNL support costs and whether it represented value for money. A pricing model was also developed to purchase packages of support on a fair and consistent basis. Valuing Care surveyed all FE colleges in Staffordshire to identify the level of staff input, and the associated cost of supporting a sample of HNL. 

The identification of median costs, and corroboration against our benchmark data, provided the Council with a good indication of the usual cost of delivering support locally.

The results helped to develop and populate a cost model to inform future HNL funding decisions. 

Key Benefits:

  • Established processes for engaging service providers and reviewing the reported cost of delivering services.
  • Increased intelligence on how support costs vary to meet the needs of HNL.
  • Development of a cost model based on identification of the usual cost of delivering services.
Case Studies

Dorset Joint Commissioning Group

Dorset Joint Commissioning Group

Logo for Dorset Clinical Commissioning GroupIn response to a request for a large increase in fees from a national provider organisation, Dorset Joint Commissioning Group worked in partnership with Valuing Care to undertake a cost review of all the specialist care home services delivered by the provider. The objective was to assess the reasonableness of the current fees, thereby informing a decision on the requested fee uplift.

Valuing Care benchmarked the reported cost of the provider’s services against its cost model and national intelligence of care home costs. The review concluded current fees were in excess of a fair price. 

Key Benefits:

  • Established processes for engaging service providers and reviewing the reported cost of delivering services.
  • Service audits to obtain first hand evidence of the level of service being provided and to ensure commissioners are getting what they are paying for.
  • Achievement of savings from service providers that want to partner the Council and offer competitively priced services.
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Gloucestershire County Council

Gloucestershire County Council

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Through established processes Valuing Care undertook a survey of care home costs to identify the usual cost of providing services locally. The cross corroboration of the survey results with Valuing Care’s cost model, and national database comparator, provided the Council with clear guidance of what represents a fair rate for care home services. The Council commissioned Valuing Care to undertake a cost review of care home services for working age adults.

The purpose of the review was to help the Council update its ‘Residential Pricing Tool,’ which was no longer considered fit for purpose. 

Key Benefits:

  • Established processes for engaging care home providers and evidencing the usual cost of providing services.
  • Cross corroboration of local survey results with Valuing Care’s national database comparator.
  • Increased intelligence about the range of fees charged to different customer groups, levels of profitability, market efficiency and sustainability.
Case Studies

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough CouncilThe Council contracted Valuing Care to undertake a cost review of residential and nursing services for older people. The purpose of the review was to inform the setting of future rates for services that are fair, sustainable and evidenced based. Valuing Care used its established processes to undertake a survey of care home costs to identify the usual cost of providing services locally.

The survey also gathered information on the overall health and sustainability of the market with specific regard to occupancy levels and the range of fees.  The cross corroboration of the survey results with Valuing Care’s cost model and national database comparator, provided the Council with clear guidance of what represents a fair rate for care home services. The review also highlighted some of the inefficiencies in the market arising from the current oversupply of places.

Key Benefits:

  • Established processes for engaging care home providers, and evidencing the usual cost of providing services.
  • Cross corroboration of local survey results with Valuing Care’s national database comparator.
  • Increased intelligence about the range of fees charged to different customer groups, levels of profitability, market efficiency and sustainability.
Case Studies

Buckinghamshire County Council

Buckinghamshire County Council

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Valuing Care was awarded a contract to calculate unit costs for Buckinghamshire County Council’s in-house foster care service, to benchmark these services against the cost of services provided by Independent Foster Agencies, and to make an assessment of value for money. This project required Valuing Care to work closely with the Council’s operational management to understand the varying level of resource input into short-term, long-term, family and friends, and special needs placements. 

The intelligence gained enabled the cost of team budget to be apportioned between function, and the calculation of unit costs for each type of service.

A comparison of unit costs for the in-house service against Valuing Care’s cost model for IFA services highlighted areas of variance in both service levels and cost efficiency; key to informing future service strategy and outsourcing decisions.

Key Benefits:

  • Calculation of actual unit costs covering different types of foster care placements.
  • Greater understanding of differences in service levels and cost efficiency.
  • Increased intelligence to inform service strategy and outsourcing decisions.
Case Studies
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