THE Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust (NDHT) has been appointed to manage domiciliary care in Holsworthy.

The NDHT is set to become the first NHS Trust to enter the home care market and have been appointed to manage domiciliary care in the following areas: Zone 1 — Bideford, Northam, Great Torrington and Holsworthy; Zone 2 — Ilfracombe, Lynton, Lynmouth, Barnstaple and South Molton; Zone 3 — Tiverton, Crediton and Cullompton.

This move follows a successful bid for a new contract with Devon County Council, NHS Northern, Eastern and Western Devon Clinical Commissioning Group and South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group — aimed at giving a vital boost to personal care services.

The service will be known as ‘Devon Cares’ and will share the trust’s vision to deliver high-quality care to support the public’s health, wellbeing and independence.

The council announced in March that the trust is prime contractor for domiciliary care in Northern and Mid Devon — the Trust’s board has now approved plans.

The role of prime contractor means the trust will not directly deliver domiciliary care but will instead manage the care providers to ensure the quality and consistency of services is continually improving.

The contract will help improve pay and support arrangements as well as providing more opportunities for training and clearer career paths.

Dr Alison Diamond, chief executive of Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Devon Cares will act as a bridge between health and social care, which will help us to provide better, more joined-up care for our patients between home and hospital.

“Providing high quality, consistent care at home will also help us to prevent avoidable hospital admissions. We also believe this will also allow us to address many of the care capacity problems and blockages facing the wider health system in Devon.”

The trust will begin the process of selecting care providers for Devon Cares, based on quality, shortly.

In partnership with the providers chosen, the trust will aim to provide the following in Holsworthy: higher quality care and support for vulnerable people, underpinned by the NHS; greater independence for people; better pay and conditions for care workers to boost recruitment and retention; more training and career opportunities for care workers who can enter a career pathway, which could lead to a job as a registered nurse; greater certainty for providers, helping them plan for the future and improve their responsiveness; greater integration with existing health and social care services so that people can return home quickly.

Dr Diamond added: “This is a really exciting opportunity for both the trust and for our patients. This is a completely new approach to domiciliary care that we hope will bring real benefits to people in Northern and Mid Devon.”