The demand for the Discharge to Access (D2A) home care provision continues to be high and the council needs to extend the two fixed term, existing block contracts for a further 250 hours per week for each contract (500 hours in total).

Due to the late nature of confirmation from the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and lack of commissioning staff this has given little time to secure alternative provision.

Approval is sought for a 12 week period to ensure continuity of the current arrangements to support timely hospital discharge, continue to assist in mitigating the impact of COVID-19 and the current pressures on the health and social care system. This will ensure the capacity and availability of home care and support to enable timely hospital discharge of people who are medically fit to return home.