20-year healthcare partnership in Torbay under threat

Calls for Trust to think again

Health trust bosses who are considering ending an acclaimed 20-year partnership with Torbay Council because it costs too much have been urged to ask local people first.

The Torbay and South Devon NHS Care Trust is thinking of ending its integrated care arrangement to look after 2,700 adults in need of social care in the bay.

But councillors say the decision is being ‘rushed through’ and the public needs to have its say.

The trust says it costs £35million a year to keep up its end of the deal, and it can no longer afford it. Councillors and Torbay MP Steve Darling have urged the trust to think again.

They also want a full public consultation to be carried out before the plug is pulled on the unique partnership which has earned plaudits nationwide.

Mr Darling said he believed that the trust had ‘overmedicalised’ its care packages, meaning it had badly overspent.

“They must engage with these issues in order to provide the people of Torbay with the service they deserve,” he said.

The bay’s adult social care and health overview and scrutiny sub-board debated the issue last week, hearing that it would mean a ‘substantial change’ to services for people in the bay.

The trust has said it will consider pulling the plug on the partnership this month, then make a final decision in March.

The partnership means the trust delivers the bay’s adult social care services. The council pays the trust around £68million a year, while the trust also collects around £23million a year in income from people who received social care services.

But, says the trust, costs have gone up by around 48 per cent over the past three years, leaving a ‘funding gap’ between the amount it receives and the amount it spends of £35million.

The meeting heard that the trust does not believe that ending the deal will mean a substantial change in how services are delivered, meaning it does not need to carry out a public consultation. It says that if the council believes there will be a change, it is up to the council to consult on it.

A statement from the trust said: “The trust is committed to working together with the council and integrated care board to keep people safe, enabling people to get the best care package with social care staff continuing to work with hospital staff to ensure they have a safe discharge.

“They are also committed to ensuring that no one experiences delays and people will receive the right support when they need it.

Councillors said they had not seen enough evidence to show there would not be significant changes to social care services, and were ‘gravely concerned’ about the impacts. And, they said, the trust’s decision was being ‘rushed through, without public consultation’.

They called on the trust to reconsider its decision not to consult the public, and agreed to ask the Health Secretary to step in to resolve the wrangle over whether or not to consult.