MidCoast Council has selected two preferred disability and aged care providers to assume responsibility of MidCoast Assist.
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Council will enter into negotiations with Kirinari Community Services and Ability Options which both provide disability and aged care services.
Earlier this year councillors voted to transition out of the delivery of ageing and disability services.
Reporting to councillors before the start of the May ordinary meeting, MidCoast Assist business manager, Paul Martin said there had been strong interest in both the aged care and disability services' Request For Proposals (RFP)
Six compliant proposals were received for the aged care RFP and 21 compliant proposals were received for the disability services RFP, Mr Martin said.
A number of non-compliant proposals were received and these were excluded from consideration in accordance with the Evaluation Plan, he said.
A range of proposals were received ranging from proposals to take over a single service area only (disability services-plan management), to proposals to effectively acquire MidCoast Assist in its entirety
Proposals were determined by an independent 'evaluation team'.
MidCoast Assist was established in the 1990s by the former Great Lakes Council after other providers withdrew from the area.
At the time, the objective was to provide services to the community which were otherwise not being provided by the community services sector, Mr Martin said.
Today there are multiple other providers (large and small) of both aged care and disability services located in the Mid-Coast, he said.
The number and quality of responses to the RFP process demonstrated that council's transition out of the delivery of aged care and disability services would not have an undue negative impact on the community, Mr Martin assured.
"This has been a process we have gone through very carefully and very diligently and very strategically," Jeremy Miller said.
"MidCoast Assist was a business which, quite rightly Great Lakes Council got into at a time when there were no other providers in the local area, so local government stepped into the gap," Cr Miller said.
"As part of our strategic review this is no longer the case; there are plenty of providers who do that work and frankly do that work as their main business, so therefore probably more efficiently and more effectively than any local government organisation could.
"This is not a reflection on MidCoast Council in any way it's just there are specialists working in that type of business."
Cr Miller said the overarching theme in the process had been on care for clients, for participants and making sure the move was as seamless and painless as possible.
MidCoast Assist was a business which, quite rightly Great Lakes Council got into at a time when there were no other providers in the local area, so local government stepped into the gap.
- Jeremy Miller
"And to make sure the people we have been looking after for many years keep being looked after through the process of beyond.
"That has taken incredible work from staff at head office and MidCoast Assist staff and volunteers.
"I think we have ended up in a good place, I think we have two companies who will continued to provide excellent work to look after those participants and clients."
Deputy mayor, Alan Tickle thanked the staff involved in the process.
"Council's prime concern was the clients receiving services and the welfare of our staff," Cr Tickle said.
"Commendation to the staff in the way they have professionally gone through this process and for continuing to care of their clients is surely a reflection of their attitude and their diligence and we thank them most sincerely."
Mayor, Claire Pontin explained the reason for the tender was not because MidCoast Council was looking at making a dollar out of this, it was purely to have a process that allowed us to be selective about who won the process.
"That was all done with keeping in mind the stability for all of the clients and the staff and I would like to add my thanks to the staff and volunteers who have worked so ably with MidCoast Assist in the past."