Agenda item

Report ACH21-037

The Committee considered a report outlining the current arrangements for the provision of Bromley’s Integrated Community Equipment Service, currently commissioned through the London Community Equipment Consortium (London Consortium), and the options for future procurement.

The Council’s Executive had previously approved (ECHS19049) re-procuring the service through continued membership of the London Consortium. However, due to the delay in activating the tender, officers were resubmitting this request. The current contract ended on 31^st March 2022. A further one year extension option was available and approval for the extension was sought to support the proposed procurement timetable and to allow for a further review that took into account the impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the future service met the needs of Bromley residents.

In response to a question from the Chairman, the Head of Community Commissioning advised that the delay in activating the tender had been due to the issues relating to the pandemic, e.g. much of the equipment came from China and there had been a number of freight delay issues.

A Member enquired if the value of the recycled equipment was historic or current. The Head of Community Commissioning agreed that this could be checked following the meeting. In response to a further question the Head of Community Commissioning advised that the Borough’s recycling level was much higher than other areas within the consortium. They were looking to increasing recycling, but safety was a major issue – prior to recycling these items would be categorised as clinical waste and needed to be managed through quality compliance.

A Member highlighted that the procurement costs of £37k were to be funded from the Improved Better Care Fund (iBCF) and asked why this was. The Head of Community Commissioning advised that this the CCG’s allocation of the iBCF and had been agreed historically that it could be utilised for procurement. The Member requested that the legal terms of the iBCF were double-checked to ensure that the use of this funding for procurement met the criteria and assurance given that it was being taken from the correct budget.

In response to questions, the Head of Community Commissioning advised that the Local Authority’s spend would not exceed £624k and the Local Authority element was accessed via the Occupational Therapy team. Any further spend required would be from the NHS contribution. It was further confirmed that any order of equipment by health partners would be taken out of the health allocation. The Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Health highlighted that all health and care providers drawing from the same contract was part of the One Bromley whole system approach.

In response to questions regarding performance targets and the impact of the lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Head of Community Commissioning advise that further information could be provided to Members following the meeting.

In considering the recommendation outlined in the report, Members agreed to support the first recommendation to:

i.)  Approve the Council participating in a joint re-tendering exercise for the Integrated Community Equipment Service through the London Consortium, with the estimated £37k procurement costs funded from the Improved Better Care Fund.

In response to a question regarding the figures provided, the Assistant Director for Integrated Commissioning highlighted that there were three components to the contract and tendering costs – the contract costs; the ongoing cost of the membership to the consortium with associated costs; and a cost of £37k this year for additional resources to manage the procurement. A vote was taken on the second recommendation to:

ii.)  Agree an extension to the Integrated Community Equipment Service contract with Medequip, utilising the remaining one-year formal extension option, commencing 1st April 2022 at an estimated value of £2.6m.

6 in favour

1 against

2 abstentions

(It was noted that the Co-opted Members were appointed to the Committee in a non-voting capacity)

RESOLVED: that the Executive be recommended to:

i.)  Approve the Council participating in a joint re-tendering exercise for the Integrated Community Equipment Service through the London Consortium, with the estimated £37k procurement costs funded from the Improved Better Care Fund.

ii.)  Agree an extension to the Integrated Community Equipment Service contract with Medequip, utilising the remaining one-year formal extension option, commencing 1^st April 2022 at an estimated value of £2.6m.