Over 200 elderly islanders affected as Jersey-based care provider hit by funding cuts

More than two hundred islanders in Jersey will be affected by funding cuts of almost half a million pounds at care charity Family Nursing & Home Care.

The Jersey charity, which provides integrated nursing and home care in the community, will have all funding for its home care service taken away at the start of the New Year.

It has already had funding for its home care service reduced by around £430,000. Provided by the States of Jersey's Health and Social Services Department (HSSD), the funding will be removed completely from 1 January 2017.

Of the 20 care providers in Jersey, Family Nursing & Home Care (FNHC) is the only one to be subsidised by HSSD. As a result, it is known for providing a high level of service at historically low rates.

This means the cuts are of great concern for the charity and the people it provides care for, who may not be able to afford the inevitable increased fees.

Julie Gafoor, chief executive of FNHC, told ITV News: “We’re extremely worried and we have written to our clients to urge them to have an assessment to see if they are eligible for any benefits. There’s the long-term care benefit.

“You need to have quite a lot of care – seven days a week, four times a day – to be eligible for that. We know that a lot of our clients, at least ninety of them, are not in that category and we are concerned that they may struggle for this increase in fees.”

The States of Jersey’s HSSD has reassured FNHC and its clients that provisions will be available for those who may struggle, stating: “Support for anyone needing financial assistance with the cost of care – whichever approved provider is used – is already available through the long-term care scheme or the personal care components of income support.

“And in order to potentially increase the number of households that may be able to claim such assistance, the department is working on a new flexible personal care component with social security.”

The cuts will not only impact on clients but also on FNHC staff. The charity has entered a period of consultation with staff and union representatives, while renegotiating contracts of home care and support staff. These revised contracts will see less generous terms and conditions of employment, so the charity is offering redundancy terms as an alternative.

Funding withdrawal ‘not a recent development’

While FNHC has claimed that the withdrawal of funding has come as a shock to the charity, stating in a press release that it was “recently informed” of the changes, HSSD maintains that the two parties have been engaged in discussion on the matter since 2014.

The States department said that the charity’s press release was “wrong to give the impression that this was a recent development on HSSD’s part.”

The reduction in States subsidies for the charity has been gradually introduced over the course of 2016 and HSSD claims that FNHC is providing 30 per cent less home care in 2016 than in 2015, therefore justifying the cuts to funding.

The HSSD said: “In HSSD’s view, FNHC has found it difficult to come to terms with the new changes to the market, despite the fact that HSSD has regularly offered to provide assistance in reducing costs, improving sustainability and considering other options.

“Ultimately, decisions about the services it chooses to provide and its staffing arrangements are for FNHC.”

Furthermore, HSSD claims it will continue to provide the charity with funding of more than £7m a year, of which only a relatively small proportion is reserved for the home care service.

Despite the charity believing that the move will result in potentially grave consequences and negatively impact staff and clients, it has said that the home care service will continue despite the removal of funding. It stated that even without commission from HSSD, the charity will be able to “offer a greater range of home care services whilst maintaining high standards of governance.”