Central Scotland MSP, Hugh O’Donnell, has called on the Care Commission to investigate the use by local authorities of reverse auctions for the provision of social care services.

Reverse auctions, which are routinely used in the retail sector, start with councils offering for sale ‘lots’ of social care services, at an upper, ceiling price and inviting secret, lower bids from providers.

Since the introduction of this procurement method Mr O’Donnell has learned of a string of problems, from recipients of social care services and their families and also from providers.

Commenting, Mr O’Donnell said:

“The real impact of the reverse auction process is now being felt. I first raised the matter in November 2007 in a Parliamentary Motion, having been alerted to the implications of this new system. Sadly my concerns were well-founded.

“Councils were adamant that a system which has cheapness as its first priority would not impact on the quality of service that resulted. They claimed that good quality assurance and control would maintain high standards. Instead I am hearing of confused elderly people faced with an ever-changing procession of workers, of disabled people not getting the physical care they need and of workers arriving late and leaving early. It seems clear that too many vulnerable people are being stuck with inadequate care from poorly-trained and poorly-paid workers,

“The system of ‘blind’ bidding has also hung care providers and their staff out to dry. Contractors are not told about the terms and conditions of workers currently providing the particular care service ‘lot’ they are bidding for. If ever there was a recipe for disaster this is it – care workers faced with accepting lower wages from the winning provider or losing their jobs, care providers forced to look for new staff or embroiled in employment battles, different staff doing the same job for different rates of pay. But what is merely problematic for the providers is, in too many cases, a disaster for those they are contracted to care for. It’s a far cry from the person-centred approach which councils claim to aspire to when assessing and providing social care services for the most frail, ill or disabled members of their communities.

“On behalf of my constituents who have been adversely affected by this flawed system, I have asked the Care Commission to investigate whether a system that is routinely used in supermarkets and stores to bring down prices is really suitable for the provision of care services.”