Another write up in another local paper.
Fairfax also has a community newspaper in our area (Heidelberg & Diamond Valley Weekly). Unfortunately I can't find a link to it, and I don't want to photocopy the article and reproduce it here, so I'll settle for retyping the last two paragraphs of the article:
The council will not divulge the amount of the new contract, but Nillumbik has budgeted to spend $770,000 less on health care this year than it did last year. Negotiations between Nillumbik and AHCS over carer conditions are continuing ahead of the contract's October 1 start date.
Mayor Warwick Leeson said the quality of care would "in no way be diminished". General Manager of AHCS community care Jim Burns said the organisation would try to match current employment conditions.
What a farce. How can the quality of care NOT be diminished with a cut of three quarters of a million dollars? Jim Burns is between a rock and a hard place. AHCS have won this contract because they gave the lowest tender. Now they have to work out how to pay us and at the same time provide the same amount of care to the clients that they have had before. AHCS don't have to foot the bill but it has been very difficult for them. Something which should have been a relatively painless changeover has turned into a nightmare for all concerned.
The council will not divulge the amount of the new contract, but Nillumbik has budgeted to spend $770,000 less on health care this year than it did last year. Negotiations between Nillumbik and AHCS over carer conditions are continuing ahead of the contract's October 1 start date.
Mayor Warwick Leeson said the quality of care would "in no way be diminished". General Manager of AHCS community care Jim Burns said the organisation would try to match current employment conditions.
What a farce. How can the quality of care NOT be diminished with a cut of three quarters of a million dollars? Jim Burns is between a rock and a hard place. AHCS have won this contract because they gave the lowest tender. Now they have to work out how to pay us and at the same time provide the same amount of care to the clients that they have had before. AHCS don't have to foot the bill but it has been very difficult for them. Something which should have been a relatively painless changeover has turned into a nightmare for all concerned.
posted by Gina E. | 7:01 pm
2 Comments:
That's precisely the point to it all ~ saving heaps of money !!
The Council failed to take into account the consequances for local Carers and their clients and any new contractor should have been aware of the industry standards applying -what in essence applied to one of the larger providers in the home care services Industry.
Simply put the contract needs to be re negotiated, based upon the maintenance of existing needs and standards.
Best wishes
Lindsay, don't see how Council can do this without opening itself up to legal challenges from unsuccessful tenderers. Council could re-open tenders and then may leave itself open to a legal challenge from the successful tenderer. Finally, I have yet to meet the humble employer/manager who will reverse his or her own decision. So Council would find this - alone - very difficult to do.
Blessings and bliss
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