The Homecare Association has been lobbying the Department of Health on behalf of members and their staff throughout the Review of Adult Social care to ensure that a fair rate is paid to providers for delivery of social care in people’s own homes, that would allow staff to be remunerated properly for the valuable and challenging roles they perform, supporting older and disabled people in their own homes. We would welcome any development to this longstanding piece of work that would change the current rates paid to providers that would enable them to attract and retain these vital, skilled carers recognising their true value to the entirety of Health and Social Care. We have long advocated for this, especially in Northern Ireland where the rates paid for Domiciliary care as a region are the lowest in the United Kingdom, (£15.75 per hour of care delivered) and individually the third lowest rate of all contracted Domiciliary Care is in the Western Trust Area, (average £14.21 per hour) compared to a weighted average of £18.45 per hours across the rest of the UK. (Homecare Deficit Report 2021) This inevitably impacts on the terms and conditions of staff.
We continue to call on the Department of Health to pay a fair price for care which not only remunerates providers and staff appropriately but stabilises services which are so vital to supporting the NHS in its recovery from Covid-19.
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Notes for Editors
- Our CEO Jane Townson is available for interview upon request.
- The Homecare Association (formerly United Kingdom Homecare Association, UKHCA) is the UK’s membership body for homecare providers, with over 2,340 members nationally. The Homecare Association’s mission is to work together to ensure that homecare is valued, so that all of us can live well at home and flourish within our communities. The Homecare Association takes the lead in shaping homecare, in collaboration with partners across the care sector, and provides hands-on support and practical tools for its members. As a member-led professional association, the Homecare Association's members agree to abide by the Association's Code of Practice.
- For further information please contact: Homecare Association Ltd, Sutton Business Centre, Restmor Way, Wallington, SM6 7AH. Telephone: 020 8661 8165. Mobile: 07393 012 113. www.homecareassociation.org.uk
