Pembrokeshire County Council is offering assurances that care services will not be disrupted, following uncertainty over the future of care provider, Allied Healthcare.

Earlier this month the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said that Allied Healthcare had announced its intention to apply for a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) last spring to restructure its debts.

The commission said that Allied had confirmed it had funding until the end of November but that it had not given adequate assurance that it has, or will have, funding or investment to ensure the business could continue beyond the end of this month.

The CQC wrote to the Pembrokeshire County Council on November 5 to inform that there was “a credible risk of service disruption” to services delivered by Allied Health Care.

“We are doing this now to give local authorities as much time as possible to plan for maintaining continuity of care for people relying upon services from this provider, should this be required,” said Andrea Sutcliffe CBE, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care at the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

“Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure continuity of care for everyone using an adult social care service in the event that it ceases to operate.”

In a statement released this week the company said its credit line had been extended by three weeks but that the previous announcements regarding its future had had an adverse impact on staff retention and recruitment. It said a number of customers had already transferred care services to other providers, further affecting the business. “These developments have intensified the impact of the challenging environment within which we operate and come immediately prior to the Christmas period, when pressures on care providers are at their highest. This has also meant that we have had to re-evaluate our long-term business plan,” said a spokesman for Allied Health care.

The spokesman said that the company was currently exploring the option of selling or transferring care contracts to other providers to minimise disruption to continuity of care.

It said such sales or transitions will involve the transfer of staff and will be conducted in close cooperation with customers.

“We continue to trade safely while this process is underway. RBS as our existing lender has agreed to extend our current credit line by up to three weeks beyond 30 November, enabling us to deliver safe continuity of care whilst we explore and implement these options,” said the spokesman.

“We will work closely with the CQC and all commissioners of care to ensure that there is minimal disruption to the care that we provide across the UK whilst this transition takes place. Continuity of care is our number one priority.”

Pembrokeshire County Council issued a statement yesterday (Friday) saying: “Pembrokeshire County Council would like to reassure Allied Healthcare service users and their families that it has robust contingency plans in place to ensure the continuity of care for customers of Allied Healthcare, and those plans will now be implemented.

“County Council officers and staff at Allied Healthcare will continue to work closely with each other and with health colleagues and the Welsh Government to ensure that continuity of care is maintained through this challenging time.

“We will continue to keep service users and their families briefed as the situation unfolds.

“If customers do have any concerns over the weekend, they are advised to contact Allied Healthcare.”