Council emergency action to protect health support

The service provides equipment and support to people across Peterborough and Cambridgeshire

A council took emergency action to safeguard a health and social care service after its previous provider went into liquidation.

Peterborough City Council, which leads the Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES) on behalf of Cambridgeshire County Council and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board, terminated its contract with Nottingham Rehab Limited (NRS) in July following insolvency issues with the company.

The service provides health and social care equipment and some housing adaptations for residents.

The council used emergency powers to terminate its contract and award a replacement to Medequip Assistive Technology Ltd, to ensure no gap in provision.

The ICES contract provides equipment to people of all ages and is responsible for the purchasing, delivery and installation, collection, recycling, repair and maintenance of a large range of health and social care equipment.

It is a statutory service which also provides minor housing adaptations such as small ramps and handrails, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

NRS held contracts with 41 local authorities nationwide and went into liquidation last month.

Peterborough City Council, like many others, was forced to make other arrangements to plug the gap in service provision.

The ICES scheme provides more than 100,000 items of equipment to people each year.

A report to be put before a Peterborough City Council cabinet meeting on 2 October states: "The ICES contract is an essential part of the health and social care system providing equipment to support hospital discharge, prevent admission to hospital and care homes, keep people safe and independent at home and school and supports end of life."

It further says: "The nature of the insolvency issues did not provide sufficient time to undertake a competitive procurement process, and termination and award of contracts had to be undertaken in such a way to ensure no gap in service provision occurred, enabling [the city council] to discharge its statutory duty."

It was noted that the absence of this service would have resulted in the council's failure to deliver its statutory service, as well as having a serious impact on people who required this support.

Cabinet members will be recommended to support the emergency decision taken by their chief executive.