Care services still in turmoil

9.49.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 14th Jul 2008

Hertfordshire County Liberal Democrats have been keeping a close eye on the problems caused by the change of suppliers of Adult Care Services. In early April the contracts were taken over by Supporta Care and Care UK limited. The hand over from the previous care providers was wholly inadequate. People requiring care were left home alone without carers, carers were left without work as their checks and personnel files were incomplete and finally the council suspended the contracts.

This mess has continued and the contracts are still suspended. Last week the council sent out bills to adults receiving care asking them to check their bills carefully for any mistakes and contact them for a reimbursement on next months bill. For many receiving care this is not appropriate.

Chris White, Liberal Democrat Group Leader said: 'To ask vulnerable adults who may have dementia or have difficulty in accessing written information to double check their bills is unacceptable. Many will not be able to do this. It is also unacceptable to charge someone for services they have not received especially as many will be in receipt of benefits.'

Chris continued: 'The Tory-run council have tried to distance themselves from not having a firm control over the previous contract and not carrying out the necessary checks, now instead of doing their job correctly they are asking for the customers to be the auditor of the new contracts. The council really needs to get to grips with these problems.'