A MALVERN care service could be forced to close if ‘urgent’ funding is not secured from the Government.
Right at Home, based in Great Malvern, has now backed the national Save Our Homecare campaign calling on the UKs governing body to pledge more money to homecare services.
The Avenue Road site, run by Worcestershire County Council, is one of dozens throughout the country to help elderly or disabled people maintain their independence at home.
And Richard Turner, managing director of Right at Home – who care for about 70 people – told The Observer the Malvern service was at a ‘critical’ point and would ‘evaporate’ without further cash boosts.
“We are an invisible workforce working hard to keep vulnerable people in their own homes,” he said. “If funding continues to be chronically reduced the way it is being done then the provision of our service will evaporate.
“Clients will then be forced to leave their homes at the first sign of a lack of independence.
“The decline will be dramatic and providers like myself would be forced out of the market place and our support we give to local clients will just be gone.”
A nationwide petition has also been started to lobby the Government. It has received more than 2,500 signatures but needs 10,000 for a response and 100,000 for it to be considered for debate in Parliament.
“You don’t know with the austerity measures whether this will work but I think it could if we can raise the awareness and make the ministers realise the impact this is having on the most vulnerable,” Mr Turner added.
“It is not only the immediate impact, but in the long-term, all it will do is increase the cost for the country as people will have to go into care homes – which are generally expensive.
“It is a short-sighted vision to try and save money now when in the long-term you are pushing people to more expensive care.”
The campaign has been backed by United Kingdom Homecare Association (UKHCA), which predicts a £750million shortfall in funding for homecare services in 2016/17, and chief executive Bridget Warr said the care was in ‘crisis’.
“If action is not taken now, the already chronic funding gap will deepen and put these vital services at risk,” she said.
A Worcestershire County Council spokesman added: “In light of the rise in the National Living Wage and the introduction of workplace pensions, increased staffing costs have necessitated a review of prices for domiciliary care.
“In accordance with all contracts, the council will review tier prices and other fees holistically in the last quarter of the 2015/16 financial year.
“After consultation with domiciliary care providers the council will advise on and implement changes in April 2016.”
Visit www.petition.parliament.uk/petitions/108789 to sign the petition.
