Decision details

To seek approval for an interim Integrated Community Equipment Services contract to ensure continuity of service whilst a longer-term procurement is being undertaken.

The contract would be for a period of 12 months 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 with the option to extend 2 x 6 months 01 April 2026 – 30 September 2026 and 01 October 2026 – 31 March 2027.

Approval has been given to enter into an agreement between North Yorkshire Council and Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board for the provision of integrated community equipment services. It was agreed for a 30-day public consultation to commence for a S75 agreement.

Approval has also been given to procure an interim integrated community equipment services contract to ensure continuity of service whilst a longer-term procurement is being undertaken.

The current community equipment contract ends on 31 March 2025. Work is underway to redesign and recommission a new service for 2026/27, and a procurement timetable in place. The procurement route is a Direct Award via the Procurement Services Integrated Community Care Equipment and Associated Services Framework which will provide sufficient time for this to be completed and have a service in place to meet the needs and expectations of partners and people who require community equipment to support their independence and wellbeing.

High quality care equipment, aids and adaptation services are a vital component to the independence of people of all ages with health conditions, disabilities, and/or mobility issues. Care equipment services provide the gateway to the independence, dignity, and self-esteem of not only the service users but their families and carers too.

The Care and Support Statutory Guidance, issued under the Care Act (June 2014) states that local authorities must promote integration between care and support provision and health and health related services, with the aim of joining up services. The continued integrated approach of the Community Equipment Service shall facilitate this whilst:

- Promoting the wellbeing of children, young people and adults with care and support needs.
- Improving the quality of care and support and a positive impact on outcomes for service users and their parents/carers.
- Facilitating Prevention: through the prevention of admissions to hospitals or care homes, delayed transfers of care and ill health; for example, by supporting skin integrity and delaying the deterioration of health.
- Facilitating Independence: through the provision of the right equipment which can help people maintain their independence by allowing people to continue to carry out everyday tasks such as toileting, bathing, feeding, and drinking. Equipment can also help with mobility.
- Facilitating Caring: through the provision of the right equipment, equipment can enable care and nursing needs to be attended to in a community setting by either paid or family carers.
- Equipment can keep the carer safe when moving and handling is required preventing injury to the carer and reducing the need for home care packages.

Options considered were:
1) Direct Award through a Framework
2) Extend for 12 months.
3) Do nothing.

Option 2 and 3 have been discounted as would be exposing the Council and our ICB partners to a significant amount of risk owing to not having a contract in place or extending beyond scope of the original contract and the brokered extension period and therefore neither is a legally compliant route to market.