The Government has noted the statement made by the GSD regarding the recent challenges in the delivery of domiciliary care services. 

A statement from the Government follows below:

This Government is proud of the investment that it has made in Domiciliary Care since 2011. It is a  service that has grown organically and has grown from £750,000 a year under the GSD to £4.2 million  under the GSLP/Liberals. The service this Government inherited was minimal and was granted on a  first come first serve basis, and not on a needs based basis as it is now. Minister Arias-Vasquez has  attended plenty of functions where service users have commended the Government on the  improvement of this service. 

This, however, is not a slanging match between two parties on who has done better. The focus here  should be on what proactive steps are being taken by Government to improve the service. The  decision to put the contract out to tender, a decision explained by Minister Arias-Vasquez at the  Town Hall held earlier this week, which Ms Sanchez attended, was one to improve the service and  hold the entity that was given the contract to account. 

The Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez did not shy away from addressing  ANY issues. That was the entire purpose of the Town Hall. The Minister gave a sincere apology to  service users and carers for the recent disruption, fully acknowledging the strain experienced by  families and staff in recent weeks. 

The Minister explained that the disruption followed the termination of services from the previous  provider, LifeCome Care. The Minister also explained the difficulties encountered by the Care Agency  and CCDSL in the transition from LifeCome Care Ltd to CCDSL. The Care Agency and CCDSL have  been working round the clock to resolve issue with rotas and ensure the service is up and running in  the way the Government would expect it to work, given the substantial amount of taxpayer’s money  the Government has chosen to invest in this service. 

The Government fully accepts that, during these early days of the CCDSL takeover, some families  have experienced delays and difficulties. However, it is equally important to make clear that the vast  majority of families are happy with the service being delivered. It is in this context that it is necessary  to say that there are currently 512 packages of care being delivered. Most of these have had no issue  with the transition. 

The Minister for Health and Care, the Hon Gemma Arias-Vasquez, said: “As I told the service users  and their families earlier this week, I am genuinely sorry for the disruption and the anxiety they have had to endure over the past year, and especially over the last few weeks. It is extremely unfortunate  that it was agreed with LifeCome Care Ltd that, having successfully been awarded a tender, which  was conducted independent of Government and without any ministerial interference, the contract  was terminated by mutual consent. The very reason I decided to put this service out to tender was  because the service pre-LifeCome was not working well. Having had to make the decision to  terminate the contract with LifeCome, I am now confident that CCDSL, a not-for-profit entity owned  by Community Care Gibraltar, will bring this service back to what people expect it should be. This  decision is one which ensures that every penny spent goes to the service user.”