We used a dynamic purchasing system to offer help following a national domiciliary care provider’s difficulties

Background
Following the pressures experienced by a national domiciliary care provider in November 2018, we used the supplier management module within Adam’s dynamic purchasing system (DPS) to communicate with all domiciliary care providers enrolled within it.

Our  Continuing Healthcare Team uses the DPS to secure the best nursing home placements based on a number of factors including price, location and quality. (Please view the video at the bottom of this post to hear team administrators explain how the service works and how it has helped patients and their families.)

Action
The system currently supports Cheshire and Wirral, Merseyside and Staffordshire and we distributed a request to providers in those areas for support in other regions covered by MLCSU.

The request was out to the market immediately upon request. We allowed 24 hours for responses to be received and these were collated and all providers contacted within two days.

The communication specifically asked for support in the Lancashire and Birmingham/Solihull regions and 15 providers responded to this message to offer support within 24 hours. These providers were all contacted directly and were able to provide a range of care (including complex, children’s and CHC adults’ care) across the regions specified, most being eager to support and with capacity to pick up packages, via TUPE or otherwise, almost immediately. We also extended the offer to social care within Staffordshire and Lancashire.

Impact
The exercise was quick and efficient and enabled our local leads to begin making necessary arrangements for the recommissioning of the required packages of care.