Introduction
Adult Partnership Commissioning work closely with the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (KMCCG) colleagues, to ensure health and social care services are fully integrated. The wide range of projects are either funded from the Better Care Fund, Medway Council social care budget or KMCCG central NHS budget.
The Better Care Fund (BCF) is a national initiative which requires the creation of a pooled budget for the commissioning of integrated health and social care services effective from April 2015. The initiative is targeted to progress the integration of services as determined at a local level. Whilst local areas are required to manage a pooled fund for the delivery of restructured services, the fund represents primarily existing investment.
The team commission and manages various contracts that help facilitate the discharge from hospital and admission avoidance as well as adult social care accommodation, home care and registered services.
Case Study 1 – home care
One of the intended outcomes of commissioning the new Home and Extra Care Services in Medway was to help reduce the environmental impact the incumbent services had. The service design now centres around a Locality system and a Basket of Hours ethos.
The intention was to improve Service Users’ health and social outcomes and improve the efficiency of the new Providers. Indications show that this approach is having a positive effect on the way that Providers plan their work practices, enabling them to set routes and times that make the most of their staffs’ locations and available times. We now see more walking rounds, bike rounds and driver led rounds, all of which have reduced transport costs and the impact on the environment. It has also ensured that service users get personalised care by trusted locally based carers at times that suit and fit their lifestyles.
Case Study 2 – Medway integrated community equipment services
Medequip’s Rochester depot is the company’s first plug in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). This Ford Transit Custom vehicle is the first electric delivery van on the Medequip fleet, and Medequip are keen to review how it performs as part of a trial, which could signal a total change in how Medequip completes the delivery of community equipment across the UK. Medequip is committed to using power from sustainable sources across its operations, so moving the fleet away from fossil fuels is an important consideration. A significant number of vehicles on the car fleet are plug in hybrids, and many contracts already require Medequip to take on technologies to reduce CO2 emissions, so these trials have a vital role to play.
“With so many UK cities and towns considering or already implementing Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) charges, it’s important that we plan for the future to ensure Medequip contributes to cleaner air targets, particularly for city use,” stated Peter Gaunt, Fleet Manager for Medequip. “We have been looking at both all electric and hybrid options, but from an operational point of view we need battery ranges to improve before all electric is truly viable for us. In the meantime, PHEVs offer a practical option for us to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiencies.”
With many depots located in city centres and covering urban routes, this is a key operational issue for Medequip. The Ford Transit Custom PHEV selected by Medequip for the trials runs an advanced hybrid system featuring the multi-award-winning Ford EcoBoost 1.0-litre petrol engine as a range extender.
The Medequip team will be monitoring performance closely to see how their PHEV fares over the next few months. If the trials prove satisfactory, then certainly in the near future PHEVS will be the way forward, with plans to move to all electric as battery technology continues to develop.