A SHAKE-UP in homecare across Powys has prompted serious concerns that those who use the service may not receive the support they need.

Domiciliary care in the county, which is currently provided by about 20 companies, will be taken over by four providers from this weekend, and Talgarth county councillor William Powell, Assembly Member for Mid & West Wales has raised questions over the transitional arrangements being put in place by the council following its award of adult social care contracts to four out of county providers - Alpha Care, Care Watch UK, Reach and Abacare.

The AM said this week: "Constituents have brought a number of serious concerns to me on the practical arrangements for transition from established local providers. If these concerns are borne out, they could prove a considerable risk to the Council and, more importantly, to service users themselves.

"We are now only days away from the new companies taking over responsibility for the first tranche of care packages – and I have been informed that the new providers have still not been supplied with a comprehensive list of those receiving care. This is genuinely concerning.

"Coupled with this is the issue of the detailed notes of the service users, which are held by the current providers, where there are sensitivities around the sharing of data and no evidence of the County Council having a detailed profile of such service users' recent care profiles."

An unnamed Powys carer told us this week: "I have four words for the situation that has arisen - scare in the community, and I am very, very concerned about what is going on."

Responding to concerns put to Powys County Council earlier this week over the homecare changes, a spokesman for the council said: "We are changing this service so we can improve the independent living of our service users. The changes also represent value for money for the council and will make the service more sustainable in meeting the needs of the growing population in Powys within our existing resources."

For more see The Brecon & Radnor Express - available now.