Isle of Wight care home owners threaten court action on contracts

Care home owners on the Isle of Wight have
refused to sign new contracts with the council and are threatening
court action.

The owners are disputing the terms and
conditions of the contract – which state how council-placed
residents are cared for – and the way in which they have been
thrust upon them without negotiation.

The latest move is the culmination of a long
running claim that the council does not pay enough to keep its
residents in the independent care homes. If a solution to the
contract problem is not thrashed out at meetings between now and
October, the homes will bill the council at a commercial rate for
looking after the residents.

Chairperson of the Isle of Wight Registered
Care Homes Association Richard Jones said: “If they do not pay in
full we will go to the county courts and our advice is that we have
a strong case because we will have provided the service without a
contract agreement.”

The 44 members of the Registered Care Homes
Association are united in their refusal to sign the contracts.

The council has admitted it had been hasty in
putting out the contracts without first issuing a draft document
for discussion.

Director of social services Charles Waddicor
said: “There was an error on our part and, with the extra six weeks
we have now given them, I hope and expect us all to reach an
agreement.”

Both parties said this week they were
determined to reach an agreement but warned that negotiations would
be difficult.