03.12.18
Home care provider Allied Healthcare saved from bankruptcy
One of the largest home care providers in the UK has been sold two weeks after it announced it was selling or transferring all of its contracts after regulators reported it was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Allied Healthcare, which provided over 13,000 elderly and vulnerable people with care in their own homes across 150 local authorities, has been bought by Health Care Resourcing Group (HCRG) for an undisclosed fee.
However, many local authorities who used Allied Healthcare have already arranged for their adult social care services to be transferred to other providers or even house, after it was revealed that the home care provider was unable to confirm funding past November.
In the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report from 5 November, the regulator said it was assessing the provider’s future viability and issued a so-called stage six notification, calling it a “very unsettling time for everyone who uses Allied Healthcare’s services.”
The CQC wrote to the 84 councils whose home care services were immediately at risk, warning of a “credible risk of service disruption” which led to local authorities searching for alternative suppliers.
Following the damning report, Allied Healthcare announced it was seeking to transfer or sell all of its home care contracts to other providers and heavily criticised the CQC, claiming its notice was the major reason behind the transferring of contracts.
Now Allied Healthcare has been acquired by HCRG, with ownership and full-service provision transferring from 30 November.
Despite managing to extend its funding until 21 December, HCRG confirmed that between 16 and 30 November some local authorities and CCGs terminated their contracts with Allied Healthcare.
Allied Healthcare stated: “With long-term financial arrangements in place and a clear commitment to the continuation of high-quality services, Allied Healthcare would urge local authorities to consider the potential disruption that could be caused by transferring services, particularly at this time of year.”
CRG assured stakeholders and providers that under Allied Healthcare’s new CEO, Narinder Singh, it was confident that were would be no break in service.
atarzynaBialasiewicz