Councils tendering care contracts case by case in online ‘auctions
With a higher proportion of the elderly living in rural communities I wonder if this approach will catch on more broadly? Local authorities have been tendering out blocks of contracts to care companies for a long time, but in a new development they are now searching for the most competitive bid to support elderly, disabled, ill or dying people on a case-by-case basis. Matrix SCM, a Milton Keynes-based company, has devised a software system called SProc.Netwhich allows councils to circulate a care package they require for an individual to a large number of suppliers who then bid in an online auction for the contract. Birmingham city council says it has reduced its spending on care by almost a fifth using this system.
Described by Matrix as “a micro-commissioning tool. It’s new and different and is not being used widely in the marketplace”, the company is in discussions with 30 other Local Authorities. Les Latchman, chair of the Birmingham Care Consortium, said: “I believe this system increases the risk to people who are being looked after. They are treated like cattle. Care is bought in the same way that people buy toilet paper. The system works well when it comes to saving money but fails miserably when it comes to providing quality and safe services.”