3rd Party Occupational Therapy Companies used by Wigan Council

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Dear Sir / Madam

I am emailing to confirm the receipt of your recent FOI request to Wigan Council.

We will respond as soon as possible and in any case no later than 9th March 2012, which is 20 working days after the receipt of your request.

If you have any comments or questions in the meantime, please direct them to [Wigan Council request email], or at Wigan Council, Town Hall, Library Street, Wigan WN1 1YN.

Your contact is Rita Wood.

Regards

Davina Rumsey - Legal Clerk
Legal and Risk
Resources Directorate
Wigan Council, Town Hall,
Library Street, Wigan, WN1 1YN
01942 828146 ( Internal ext 3146)
[email address]

www.wigan.gov.uk

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Dear Sir,
I am writing to respond to your freedom of information request.  This
request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Your request and our response in blue is detailed below.

Please could you answer/provide
 
     1. a copy of the contract between Wigan Council and the private
     Occupational Therapy company "Network to Independence" being used
     to assess the needs of people who live in Wigan.
 
        
     2. how much this costs the council per month? £9.5k per month
 
     3. what are the main objectives/aims/goals the council expect this
company to meet
 
The main objective of using this company is to reduce waiting times for OT
assessments while there is a freeze on recruitment to vacant posts pending
decisions regarding the structure of the department.
 
     4. why this Midlands based company has been chosen to provide an OT
service?
 
Achieving value for money while at the same time ensuring people do not
have to wait longer than necessary for an OT assessment has been our mian
objective, where the company is based is not relevant.  We do not pay
additionally for any acommodation or travel.  
The company have been able to provide an OT who also works weekends which
means our objectives of more service users are assessed quickly, has been
achieved.
 
     5. How many pieces of equipment have been provided as a result of
     an assessment by Network to Independence in the last 6 months,
     broken down into the following categories showing the cost of each
     individual item
 
     a. less than £50 231
     b. between £50 and £100 32
     c. between £100 and £500 79
     d. over £500  18
 
     6. Do service users receive a copy of the report written by this
company's OT, and are they aware that there is such        a report
 
     It is not standard practice to provide service users/families with a
copy of the assessment.  We provide a copy of the care plan which they
sign - which results from the assessment.  We would provide a copy of the
assessment if asked for.
 
 
 
If you are unhappy with any aspect of this response, an independent senior
officer will review this decision. Please let me know if you would like to
arrange this.
You can also complain to the Information Commissioner, who is the
regulator for Freedom of Information. His website is
[1]www.informationcommisioner.gov.uk and his helpline number is 0303
1231113.
His staff may ask you to exhaust our internal complaints procedure if you
choose to complain to his office now
If you need any further information please do not hesitate in contacting
me.
Yours faithfully,
 
Rita Wood
Legal Practice Officer
Wigan Council
Resources Directorate - Legal and Risk
Town Hall,  Library Street, Wigan WN1 1YN
01942 828072 (Internal Ext. 3072)
[email address]
[2]www.wigan.gov.uk
 
Please note that I only work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
 
This email together with any files transmitted with it are confidential
and intended solely for the use of the individual to whom they are
addressed.  The information may be covered by legal professional
privilege.  Do not copy, disclose or distribute the information.  If you
are not the addressee, please contact the sender and immediately delete
this email and any attachments
 
 
 
 
>>Corporate Disclaimer<<
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom
they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please
notify the system manager.

Email may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded
for legal purposes.

As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this
email or any response to it under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 unless the information in it is covered by one of the
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i am away from the office until Wednesday 21st March. Emails are not being forwarded. FOI queries can be forwarded to Sharon Crippin.

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This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom
they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please
notify the system manager.

Email may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded
for legal purposes.

As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this
email or any response to it under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 unless the information in it is covered by one of the
exemptions in the Act.

This footnote also confirms that this email has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.

Dear Madam,

I have forwarded your email to the department concerned and will let you have their response as soon as possible.

Regards,

Rita Wood
Legal Practice Officer
Wigan Council
Resources Directorate - Legal and Risk
Town Hall, Library Street, Wigan WN1 1YN
01942 828072 (Internal Ext. 3072)
[email address]
www.wigan.gov.uk

Please note that I only work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays

This email together with any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual to whom they are addressed. The information may be covered by legal professional privilege. Do not copy, disclose or distribute the information. If you are not the addressee, please contact the sender and immediately delete this email and any attachments

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Dear Madam,
 
I refer to your request for additional information following our initial
response.
 
This is detailed below.
 
Thank you for the information you have provided. Unfortunately the
     contract is out of date and the extension to the contract only
     covers the period up to 2008.
 
     Therefore, please could I have the most up to date contract between
     Wigan Council and Network to Independence. There is no contract in
place
 
     Also, if this information isn't detailed in the contract, please
     could I have a list of the cost of each service provided by Network
     to Independence for example assessment leading to provision,
     assessment not leading to provision etc.
        OT Assessment and the processing of paperwork relating to
recommendations made. £149 per case.
        Follow up visit. £43
 
Yours faithfully,
 
Rita Wood
Legal Practice Officer
Wigan Council
Resources Directorate - Legal and Risk
Town Hall,  Library Street, Wigan WN1 1YN
01942 828072 (Internal Ext. 3072)
[email address]
[1]www.wigan.gov.uk
 
Please note that I only work Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
 
This email together with any files transmitted with it are confidential
and intended solely for the use of the individual to whom they are
addressed.  The information may be covered by legal professional
privilege.  Do not copy, disclose or distribute the information.  If you
are not the addressee, please contact the sender and immediately delete
this email and any attachments
 
 
 
 
>>Corporate Disclaimer<<
This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and
intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom
they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please
notify the system manager.

Email may be automatically logged, monitored and/or recorded
for legal purposes.

As a public body, the Council may be required to disclose this
email or any response to it under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000 unless the information in it is covered by one of the
exemptions in the Act.

This footnote also confirms that this email has been swept for
the presence of computer viruses.

References

Visible links
1. file:///tmp/www.wigan.gov.uk