With so many pressures on delivering care in out-of-hospital settings, it often feels like as long as a package of care is agreed and funded, then the case, so to speak, is closed. On to the next person in the queue… And yet this does nothing, really, for the person who needs care – apart ... Read more

For too long, personal health budgets and high-value care packages have operated in a trust-based vacuum. Commissioners allocate substantial sums – sometimes exceeding £20,000 a year per package – with limited visibility into how care is actually delivered. It’s no surprise to us that bodies such as HMRC have begun to investigate the way in ... Read more

The long overdue move to true oversight in delivered care packages in out-of-hospital settings finally seems to be happening. We’re now seeing councils actually putting out to tender systems they hope can manage the operational and financial aspects of care delivery, and at Alocura we are working at pace to install our system, Rostrata, onto ... Read more

Talking to commissioners and funders over the past few weeks, there’s one story that keeps cropping up; Lancashire County Council having to concede a judicial review regarding direct payments for care and support.  Here’s what we’ve been saying. With proper at-the-desktop oversight of individual care and support packages, most – if not all – of ... Read more

A few weeks ago, something seismic happened in the whole direct payments ecosystem. Lancashire County Council had to concede a judicial review claim that they had made unfair repayment demands, that their blanket policy of reclaiming funds was unlawful and that there had been pressure to reduce support worker pay to minimum wage. This last ... Read more

In the ever-evolving landscape of health and social care funding, the conversation often revolves around cost rather than outcomes. Funders and commissioners meticulously track transactions – what was spent, where, and with whom – while the fundamental element in the process, the care itself, is missing.  This transactional approach to monitoring funding is not just ... Read more