Contract with Care Homes in Manchester

In Manchester some care homes do collect statutory charges as stated in Clause 6.5.1.

In the remaining cases, Manchester City Council collects the Service User's contribution directly form the Service User and will continue to do this. We will amend clause 6.5.1 to reflect this.

The contract requires that we weigh Service Users every month, but our home uses the MUST tool, which is tailored to individual needs: if all is going well, people are weighed every 3 months, but if there is a problem they can be weighed weekly or even daily.

Isn't it a bit institutional to ask for people to be weighed every month?

Our aim is to ensure that Service Users get weighed; if this is being done through a vaildated nutritional risk assessment toll such as MUST, then this is a welcome alternative to monthly weighing.

We will amend the contract along the lines of either monthly weighing, or according to an accredited nutritional measurement tool.

One provider has asked for Clauses 16.2 to be deleted. It reads:

The Provider now grants the Commissioner a fully paid-up non-exclusive licence to use Provider IPR for the duration of this Agreement for the purposes of the exercise of their functions and obtaining the full benefit of the Services which shall include the dissemination of best practice within the health and social care bodies.

The reason this clause has been included is that we would wish to be able to use exemplars of best practice to inform future commissioning and to improve quality. Therefore this clause needs to remain.

A provider has requested  that we delete 'loss resulting from termination' and insert 'Losses' in the following clause:

28.2  If the Provider or its employees or agents (or anyone acting on its or their behalf) commits any Prohibited Act or commits any offence under the Prevention of Corruption Acts 1889 - 1916 with or without the knowledge of the Commissioner in relation to this Agreement, the Commissioner shall be entitled:
28.2.1  to exercise its right to terminate under clause 26 and to recover from the Provider the amount of any loss resulting from the termination;

Clothing and holidays are not expected to be covered by the fee, but toiletries are.  Clause 4.1.28 of the specification  states:"Wash bowls; flannels, towels, toiletries and shaving equipment shall be provided for personal use as necessary. "

The feed paid by the Council to Care Homes has never included the cost of individual Service users' clothing, and
residents have covered the cost of this themselves.

Holidays, the specification of the new contract requires that Care Homes support Service Users in planning and choosing a holiday, but the Home is not expected to cover the cost of the holiday out of the fee.

The criteria for Financial Viability checks need to be made clear.

We will delete the word 'criteria' and will leave the explanation of why we need to see accounts, that is, that we need to check that providers will not have to wind up their business in the near future.

Section 11 of the Terms and Conditions (Document 3) has now been amended to read as follows:

11. Financial Viability

11.1 All Service Providers are required to submit the following information. A full set of accounts, no older than 18 months, including a Trading Profit and Loss Account or Income and Expenditure Account in the case of registered charities, Balance Sheet and Notes.

11.2 Applicants are advised to provide additional information or explanations where the financial information in point 1, indicates a working capital deficit (current liabilities in excess of current assets); a deficit of Net Worth; or a Net Worth shown as a low value. Information provided by your accountant is preferable.

11.3 Where the Balance Sheet indicates liabilities relating to Loans and Overdrafts, a declaration should be provided from each financial institution stating that there are no arrears on the current loans shown.

11.4 Applicants are advised to provide additional information or explanations where the declaration, as required Clause 11.3, states that arrears are prevalent against outstanding loan arrangements."

To be a legal contract a pricing schedule is required, but there is none.

Our Legal Advice is that there is no requirement to include a pricing schedule.

There appears to be no clause about the obligation to review the contract price annually. To be a "fair" contract the purchaser should make conditions available for price review.

The Council's general policy is not to give automatic price increases. However, a clause allowing for the price to be amended will be added. It will also be published on this page.

The following clause has been added to the Terms and Conditions (Document 3)

Any claim for a price increase must be provided to the satisfaction of the City Treasurer (or other Officer nominated by the Council) by the production of evidence that is considered essential to the examination of the claim."

PART 4 - Specification 4.1.38 page 21.

At one stage during negotiation we agreed that an RMN OR nurse with a dementia qualification should be on duty, but this states RMN only.

The specification has been amended to read 'an RMN or a nurse with a dementia qualification'.

The requirement in clause 18.5 for insurance cover of 21 years seems long. Can this be shortened?

Yes. We have changed it to 6 years.

The following deletions have been made from Part 3 - Terms and Conditions

7.1.3 comply with the standards and recommendations from time to time issued by the Regulator (the whole of point 7.1.3)

14.1 Service User records the phrase 'and Service User Records that are held by Service Users'

25.1.4 the phrase 'second exception report'

Deleted: Document 3 - Terms and Conditions "Clause 45 Non-Contract Activity".