Committed to supporting transition of CCS staff: DHB

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Hauora Tairawhiti says it is committed to working with CCS Disability Action to support transition of staff following the decision not to continue a contract with CCS for home-based support services.

A new model of home and community services (HCSS) for Gisborne will come into effect on June 30.

The HCSS was developed in 2017 and consultation with the current providers of these services in Tairawhiti occurred at this time, district health board Hauora Tairawhiti said in a statement.

For the new HCSS contract, the procurement process is guided by national protocols developed by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

A two-stage procurement process started with a call for Registrations of Interest (ROI) to deliver the new model to the community.

This ROI included an evaluation approach with a variety of criteria to enable the selection of the provider that it felt would best serve the Tairawhiti community within the new model.

One of the current providers, CCS Disability Action, was not shortlisted for this phase.

Hauora Tairawhiti said that a possible change in caregiver could cause some anxiety and stress for people receiving care and each person receiving care would be contacted individually with information about the transition, the new model of care and what that meant for him or her.

Hauora Tairawhiti said there were expectations outlined in the Employment Relations Act regarding the transition of staff and within the Request For Proposal (RFP) phase. These were core to the consideration of how the provider would be selected.

As the RFP process was not yet concluded and a new provider had not yet been selected, Hauora Tairawhiti said it was unable to provide further related information.