Birmingham city council criticised for care homes rise
In a letter to councillors and MPs, Mr Latcham said: “Social services in Birmingham have a shortfall of approximately 800 beds, are closing their own homes and appear hell-bent on putting the private sector out of business.
“They are burying their heads in the sand as usual, refusing to have a partnership discussion with the Birmingham Care Consortium. The private care homes are being forced under duress to sign an unsustainable contract that will be financial suicide.”
Mr Latcham said the council had offered BCC members a one per cent increase now and a further one per cent in October, but was insisting homes sign a two-year contract with an option of a further two years in 2011 “without mention of any further increase in fees”.
The letter added: “Birmingham Social Services have always said that we are a partnership, we have now found out what most of us always believed, that the partnership does not exist and it is a case of no meaningful negotiation or consultation.”
Last month, the council announced that a cash crisis had forced it to postpone plans to build six modern care centres for elderly people, although it intends to go ahead with closing all of Birmingham’s outdated local authority old people’s homes. Council leaders promised to make £1million available to private sector care homes to help improve the services they offer.
The council’s strategic director for adults and communities, Peter Hay, said: “If independent providers refuse to sign the contract, then we don’t place residents with them. We believe this is the responsible approach We doubt people would feel confident placing their loved one in a care home, using public money, where the owners had refused to sign a contract with the local council.”
Mr Hay said the council was looking at ways it might be able to help homes suffering financial problems.
