LCA Chair’s Report
April 2011
 
As an owner/operator in the care sector for over 27 years, I am constantly aware of the pressures facing providers of care and support services, and there has never been a more important time for providers in Lancashire to be a member of the Lancashire Care Association (LCA).
The LCA has an enviable reputation for working in partnership with Lancashire County Council (LCC) over several years, not just in the area of resourcing Adult Social Care, but also in areas such as the quality banding scheme, and good practice issues such as Safeguarding. This work and the development of a fee structure based on the Laing and Buisson Fair Price for Care model has assisted LCC to direct its resources towards quality provision. Even in the last 18 months when finances have tightened considerably the LCA has had some success in influencing how Lancashire County Council allocates its Adult Social Care budget.
 
Providers of care and support face enormous challenges in this period of austerity: challenges which at times seem difficult to reconcile. At the time of writing, commissioners are implementing cost cutting measures that are effectively reducing and/or withdrawing the vital resources required for ensuring high quality services which need to be delivered by a healthy, vibrant, appropriately resourced care and support sector.
 
In turn, the sector is left struggling, trying to balance high levels of quality care against the pressures of the government cuts and the funding reductions which will not only hit providers but, importantly, the vulnerable people we care for and support.
 
The LCA aims to provide effective representation for providers of quality care and support to adults across Lancashire. In so doing, we also seek to play our part in unifying the independent sector regionally and nationally in order to provide that much needed ‘single voice’ for the sector.
 
To steer the industry through these tough times we must also strive to improve the recognition of the quality and potential within the independent sector, challenging misconceptions and prejudices so as to remove barriers to more effective and meaningful joint working and partnerships.
 
The independent sector could do so much more given the opportunity. For example, vital and expensive hospital beds could be freed up for more appropriate acute care use if the NHS fully explored the untapped potential the independent sector offers in relation to residential care and to domiciliary care and support services.
 
At such times of increasing pressure it is vital to promote the professionalism within the independent sector, and to support our members’ drive towards maximum effectiveness and efficient use of scarce resources. It is also vital we that our association provide leadership and support for our members in lobbying for the appropriate resources required to deliver the level of quality that regulators and commissioners require, and users of services rightly expect.
 
Without doubt, there are a great many challenges confronting all providers of care and support services, but we remain committed to supporting members of the LCA to confront these challenges, - we will do this better with your support.
 
Never before has it been more important to be a member of your local association, if you are not a member yet, then I urge you to join now – we are only as strong as our membership!
 
Best wishes,
 
Ken Nolan
 
Chairman
Lancashire Care Association
 
April 2011