Agenda item

(To receive a report from Marie Kaempfe-Rice, Commercial & Procurement Manager, Commercial Team - People Services, which invites the Committee to consider a report on the commissioning and procurement of the Lincolnshire Community Equipment Service (LCES), which is due to be considered by the Executive on 4 May 2022.  The views of the Scrutiny Committee will be reported to the Executive, as part of its consideration of this item)

Consideration was given to a report by the Head of Public Health and the Senior Commercial & Procurement Officer, which invited the Committee to consider an update on the Lincolnshire Community Equipment Service (LCES) Re-procurement, which was due to be considered by the Executive on 4 May 2022.

Following a comprehensive review of the LCES including telecare, several changes had been made to the arrangements proposed as part of the new service, which was due to commence on 1 April 2023. Approval from the Executive was sought to procure a new contract for LCES including wheelchair services.

The report set out the main objectives of the LCES contract; the challenges faced in recent years and the proposed changes to current arrangements, which included broadening the scope of the service, changes to the commercial model, the introduction of a true pooled budget, changes to the contract duration, specification improvements and the separate procurement of the telecare service. Further details were set out in Appendix 1 to the report.

The Committee supported the proposals to the Executive and during the discussion the following points were noted

·       The Committee welcomed the separation of the telecare element; the inclusion of the wheelchair service; the continuation of the single provider model; the inclusion of sub-contract models in the procurement arrangements to ensure specialist services are maintained as well; the proposed rebate model to improve the rates of recycling of the equipment by the provider, whereby the provider would retain a percentage of the value of recycled equipment and the contract duration of potentially ten years for the community equipment contract.

·       The Committee was strongly supportive of all recycling arrangements, which currently included a scheme at the Council’s household waste and recycling centres, where equipment could be deposited and passed to the provider.

·       It was noted that seven-day working, introduced in response to the pandemic, was being monitored and could be explored as part of the new contract arrangement. Seven day working would enhance service delivery and the speed of response to people’s needs. 

·       The Committee highlighted the budget pressures, arising from demographic trends, as one of the risks. There was already a cost pressure of £1.1 million and if demand were to increase by 4% per annum, there would be increased pressure on the budget, although the proposed rebate model would mitigate some of these pressures.

·       The Committee acknowledged that due to the forecasted growth of the service and the associated potential cost pressures, a sustainable long term funding strategy would need to be developed in partnership with the NHS.  As part of the true pooled budget, equipment would no longer be attributed to either the NHS or the County Council and prescribed on the basis of need.  Thus prescriber behaviour would therefore form a key element of the joint work.

·       The catalogue of equipment was reviewed regularly to ensure the most cost effective and best range of equipment was made available.

·       Assurance was provided that many commissioners were now using a rebate model.

·       A number of options for the timeliness of delivery were being explored and would be written into the specification of the contract. However, a need to have the ability to be flexible to people’s needs and treating cases on an individual basis was also important.

·       All pieces of equipment included a sticker with the contact details for their collection.

·       A staged introduction of the contract would ensure that mobilisation of equipment was as smooth as possible.

·       It was requested that a report on the digital strategy including the complexities of the telecare service be reported at a future meeting.

·       It was hoped that the separation of the contract for the telecare service would provide the best value for money and help make the service more efficient.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the recommendations to the Executive, as set out in the report, be supported;

That a summary of the comments made be passed on to the Executive as part of its consideration of this item.