Effective social care to an ageing population – co-operatives hold the answer

Co-operativesUK, supported by The Department of Health, has produced a new guide, Self-managed Care – a Co-operative Approach, which looks at the challenges older people and their families are facing and how a co-operative approach to social care can effectively deliver to an ageing population.

With co-operatives currently high on the political agenda, new research by Co-operativesUK is highlighting innovative and practical co-operative approaches to the personalisation agenda as the way forward.

“The co-operative approach offers the potential to meet many of the aspirations of self-managed care and widen access to these benefits for people who don’t wish to do this on their own,” said Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operativesUK.

It does this by people collaborating: service users; families and carers; paid care staff; and others within their communities. The service user has direct, individual control of their care. The mutual organisation is the employer and provides training, quality standards, insurance and administration. Small clusters of service users and carers, collaborate in self managing provision in localities or to communities of interest. Groups of clusters then form a co-operative.

These approaches have been developed and tested through the establishment of pilot schemes including: Caring Support in Croydon, South London; Life Choice Care in partnership with West Sussex Independent Living Association; Oadby and Wigston Direct Payments Support Group in partnership with Leicestershire County Council; Melton Care in partnership with Leicestershire County Council and Melton Borough Council. and Sunshine Care in Rochdale.

The pilot project found that direct payments rates, in the main, do not reflect the full organisational costs, such as policy and process and Care Quality Commission registration, associated with ensuring quality care.

This was because most authorities where the pilots are operating have a direct payment rate that is significantly lower than the rate paid for equivalent agency homecare. The pilots are therefore expected to carry the cost of delivering quality and obtaining accreditation, but do not receive the payment necessary to do so. The pilots looked for other ways to increase income, by top-ups, privately funded clients of achieving agency rates.

One of the pilots, Caring Support in Croydon, is a new model homecare service for older and disabled people.

"We are a co-operative of three groups,” said Sheila Kelly, Caring Support Manager. “The people who need care in the community, personal carers and unpaid carers. It's an example of the community working together to our mutual advantage. We're looking after each other."

Ed Mayo added: “Co-operatives are trading organisations with strong values, driven by the aspirations and values of the members, but moderated by the democratic process. The learning from this project demonstrates that the co-operative approach works for all those involved in the delivery and receipt of care but that the financial support needs to be in place.”

To order a copy of Self-managed Care – a co-operative approach - please contact Petra Morris at Co-operativesUK on 0161 246 2960 or email petra.morris@cooperatives-uk.coop. Or view the pdf by clicking www.events.uk.coop/sites/default/files/CoopsUK_Care_Report[1].pdf.

www.cooperatives-uk.coop