Perth and Kinross Council has been forced into a climbdown after a care service fiasco put elderly residents into arrears and hit one family with an “eye-watering” invoice for £29,000.
Hundreds of vulnerable day-care clients across Perthshire received huge demands for back payments after the launch of a new “tailored service” policy sparked a system backlog. Many also reported a huge rise in costs.
Hit with a deluge of complaints from residents and carers, Perth and Kinross Council has announced it has now put a halt to all annual invoices and will instead send out explanatory notices outlining the new system and explaining changes to costs.
Earlier this month, The Courier revealed one 96-year-old was stunned to get a surprise demand for £1,300 a rise of more than 100% while another pensioner was asked to pay more than £5,000.
It has now emerged some of the payments sent out to about 600 households broke the five-figure barrier, with one woman receiving a bill for £29,000.
Families said the original invoices were marked “to be paid immediately”, although the council has since insisted they can be paid off in instalments.
The problem stems from the introduction of the so-called Contributions Policy, which went live last year. The new system is designed to offer a more tailored service to people using non-residential care but has created a three-month backlog.
Perth city centre councillor Peter Barrett, who described the council bills as “eye-watering”, said: “These invoices caused unnecessary and avoidable anxiety and alarm.
“The council has belatedly agreed only to send explanatory letters to clients setting out how their charges are arrived at and the offer of payment terms.
“However, this is what should have happened from the outset and the council’s approach has been ham-fisted and insensitive.”
Mr Barrett has also called for an urgent investigation into the care packages review.
“I am concerned that residents are having their care packages reviewed where no changes to their support are proposed but those people then end up paying more for the same services they received.
“That is not how I expected the transition to the new contributions policy to operate.
“Residents should only pay the new contributions when their support needs change. I want assurances that remains the case.”
Residents were first notified about the changes in letters sent out by the council in January, last year.
The new setup calculates a charge for the resident’s entire care requirements rather than costs per service.
The council has been forced to plough extra resources into clearing the backlog.
According to the local authority, other action being taken includes improved communications between departments and a more streamlined approached to shorten the time it takes to send out invoices to clients and their families.
Perth woman Liz McKinley said she was shocked to find that payments for her 96-year-old mother, who attends the Lewis Place Day Care Centre, had risen by more than 100% from £33.20 to £68.53.
She said the local authority should have been more transparent.
A council spokeswoman said: “The Contributions Policy was introduced so that service users in Perth and Kinross could access tailored care services based on their individual needs.
“As previously stated in the press, the council never expected service users to settle their annual invoice for care services in one payment.
“Letters were issued separately to the invoice inviting people to contact the council regarding payment terms.
“Following feedback from service users and their families, we have changed our approach and will now issue an updated letter with the invoice advising what each individuals weekly assessed contribution is, and what their instalment amounts over the year will be.”
She added: “All clients are financially assessed and are only asked to pay what they can afford based on national guidance; where the council policy differs from the national guidance is to the benefit of our service users.”