Hospital support services

Tender description

The Integrated Community Equipment Loan Service (ICELS) is the mechanism by which community equipment and non-catalogue equipment (special equipment) is ordered, loaned, procured, stored, supplied, distributed, collected, decontaminated, recycled and serviced across Sheffield. The Integrated Community Equipment Loan Service (ICELS) is the mechanism by which community equipment and non-catalogue equipment (special equipment) is ordered, loaned, procured, stored, supplied, distributed, collected, decontaminated, recycled and serviced across Sheffield. Valuing independence is 1 of the 4 mission statements of the city’s health and well-being board. The City’s joint health and well-being strategy states that ‘stronger primary care, community-based services and community health interventions will help people remain independent and stay at or close to home’. Maintaining independence through equipment loan and some minor adaptations is at the heart of the Integrated Community Equipment Loan Service (ICELS) which was established by Sheffield City Council and NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group in 2015 and will be continued in the future ICELS which will come into effect in July 2020. One of the fundamental principles of this service will be to promote the person’s independence and support them to live independently within their own home. The service consists of the procurement, storage, loan, distribution, collection, decontamination, repair, recycling and servicing of a wide range of community equipment. This will be from loan of simple aids to assist daily living and minor adaptations to complex aids and equipment including sensory aids. The service must be people-focussed and driven to improve outcomes for children, young people and adults in Sheffield and their carers, helping them to stay independent and providing them with the means of sourcing their own equipment. We require an efficient, high quality service which provides good value for money for the commissioners and the people of Sheffield. Stakeholders require a strong element of provider expertise; to bring enhanced support to commissioners and prescribers; helping to support our ambitions to manage prescriber behaviours and better manage costs whilst delivering an excellent service that meets the needs of the community served. Operation of the ICELS, supported by the commissioners, will further encourage integration between teams and organisations across the City. The service will operate to the overarching objective of providing the best possible service for customers throughout the life of the contract. This may entail varying or amending the service model which may include but not be limited to developmental areas outlined in section 10 ‘Future Aspirations and Specification Development’ after the contract commencement. The provider and commissioners must work closely and collaboratively with each other to ensure this objective is fulfilled. Recognising the challenges and changing requirements across health and social care, the commissioners are seeking to purchase services more innovatively through a provider who has experience and expertise across the service range and who will also encourage and support customers to remain independent. It is also desirable that the provider develops the service in a way that gives people the choice and opportunity to self-purchase equipment as well as the items they have been assessed as eligible to receive on loan.