Care service delays

I WOULD like to use this letter to reassure residents about plans to catch up on invoicing for care services.

Delays have been caused by the introduction of a new IT system for adults’ services designed to integrate care planning, purchasing and charging.

Unfortunately there have been some teething issues as it has proved more complex than anticipated to reconcile data from different sources.

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As a result there have been delays in billing some customers for services received, for which I would like to apologise.

We have already contacted all affected customers to let them know about the problem.

I would like to take this opportunity to emphasise that those residents affected will not be out of pocket – it is money they pay for their normal services which has not been collected over the past few months.

We are now in the process of writing out again to those affected on how the belated payments will be collected and to let them know that normal collection of payments will resume from mid-December.

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Council staff are working through the detail and we will be in touch with those affected as soon as is possible with the amount of money owed.

As regular charges have not been made, we need to make arrangements to collect the outstanding money due.

We are treating everyone on a case-by-case basis, and will work flexibly with residents and their families on how payment can be made.

We don’t plan to collect any of the backlog of charges until the new year.

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All residents will continue to receive their normal care packages.

Once again, I would like to take this opportunity to apologise – officers are working to rectify the problem as soon as is possible. I would also like to thank our suppliers for their patience and for working with us to resolve the problems.

Kieran Stigant

Chief Executive, West Sussex County Council