CN250238 - Homecare

Kent County Council is seeking Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered Homecare Service Providers to deliver support to Children and Adults living within the geographical boundary of Kent, including individuals who may require homecare services while residing in prison settings. The Council is establishing a Homecare Light Touch Open Framework, and invites providers who can deliver safe, high‑quality, personalised, and flexible care within both home and community environments across Kent.

Providers appointed to the Framework will be expected to: - Deliver care and support that promotes safety, dignity, independence, and wellbeing. - Offer personalised, needs‑led support tailored to each Individual's circumstances. - Work collaboratively to ensure that Individuals who draw on care and support receive services that enhance their quality of life and reflect their unique requirements. For full details and to respond to this opportunity, please visit the Delta eSourcing Portal: https://www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk/respond/E75WRT7Z7X

Lot 1 Homecare for Adult Services provides practical, day-to-day to care and support to help Individuals over the age of 18 years of age remain safe, independent, and well in their own homes. It covers essential personal care tasks such as washing, dressing, grooming, continence care and oral hygiene and helps those who require assistance with personal daily living activities but do not require clinical interventions delivered by health professionals.

Suppliers may support with medication prompting and other basic health related tasks where these are ancillary to social care needs, while all clinical or prescribed treatments remain the responsibility of NHS services. The lot also includes assistance with nutrition and hydration, meal preparation, and help with eating and drinking, alongside evening and night settling routines.

Wider support extends to safeguarding awareness, community access, essential errands, and maintaining a habitable home environment through light domestic tasks carried out as part of a regulated care call. Carers are expected to follow all manual handling and equipment plans and to identify early signs of health deterioration, ensuring timely referrals to health professionals and notifications to the Council.

Lot 1 Additional Service - Care and Support in the Prison Setting delivers essential personal care and support to Prisoners within the Sheppey Prison Cluster (HMP Elmley, HMP Standford Hill and HMP Swaleside), helping Individuals to maintain independence and dignity whilst in custody. The service focuses on regulated social care tasks aligned to assessed Care Act needs, including personal care, mobility support, nutrition, continence care, and safe daily living, delivered exclusively as doublehanded care to ensure safety and compliance within a secure environment.

Care/Support Workers must complete full HMPPS vetting and prison-specific training, operate within restricted access times, and work in close partnership with the KCC Social Care Prison Team and the onsite Healthcare Supplier, who remain responsible for clinical and medical tasks. As the service delivery location for Care and Support in the Prison Setting is fixed, and the planned annual spend is £125,269, it would not be desirable or practical for more than one Supplier to deliver the service within the prison environment.

It is proposed that a single block contract is awarded to one Supplier by either mini competition or direct award. The service includes regulated personal care, delegated health tasks, behaviour support, support with daily routines, and assistance with accessing education, leisure, and community activities.

Support is delivered across three levels - Standard, Complex, and Crisis based on assessed need, and may include daytime, evening, weekend, or overnight provision. Suppliers must deliver care in line with each child's Child/Young Person Plan, operate within CQC regulatory requirements for Disabled Children and Young People's personal care, and work closely with families, Social Workers, schools, and health professionals to promote independence, safeguard wellbeing, and achieve meaningful outcomes. The service places the child's voice, dignity, and aspirations at the centre of planning, and plays a key role in early intervention, preventing family breakdown, and preparing young people effectively for adulthood.