“I had to look my team in the eyes yesterday afternoon, where we stood in front of them and had to tell them [what had happened].
“It is the hardest news we’ve had to deliver, these are people that have worked hard for us. Thirty percent of our staff at Enliven have been working for us for over ten years.
“We’re just sitting here in awe, we do not understand this decision at all.”
There had been no complaints from Health NZ about their services, he said.
To his knowledge, PSN’s Enliven service, Visionwest and Lifewise had been meeting requirements around sustainability, quality and fulfilling client needs.
He said: “We would hope that Health New Zealand would look at this again.
“We have challenged the decision, they did an internal review following that and came out and said that their procurement process was still valid.
“One of the things we have concerns about … is that they don’t take into account tenure of service, the quality of service, our experience, our deep relationships in the community and the not-for-profit edge we offer.”
Just a few weeks ago Greaves had presented a 20-year service certificate to a support worker, who had an almost familial relationship with one client they had worked with throughout that time, he said.
Presbyterian Support Northern chief executive Shaun Greaves. Photo / Presbyterian Support Northern
PSN had serious concerns for the 4500 clients who would be affected by Health NZ’s decision.
Greaves wanted to see the transition safely completed by March – the deadline for current services to end. However, the affected organisations did not yet know who the new support providers would be.
He said: “We can’t start a transition process yet, so March to me sounds incredibly close.”
The contract loss also represented a significant financial blow to the organisations, with Enliven’s contract worth $19 million alone, he said.
Health NZ said a procurement process was underway for home and community support services across the northern region.
Proposals had been assessed against a range of criteria to ensure services were sustainable, of high quality, and able to meet the needs of people in need to support to continue living independently in their homes.
While Health NZ could not comment on individual proposals or assessments, it acknowledged that some longstanding providers had not been successful and recognised they would be disappointed.
Health NZ said it was working closely with providers to support planning for a smooth transition.