Derby and Derbyshire Wheelchair Service - Market Engagement Event

Tender description

The Wheelchair Service in Derbyshire is commissioned by Derby and Derbyshire ICB (DDICB). The registered population of DDICB is 1,113,623 (May 2023). Following a Boundary change in July 2022, DDICB became responsible for the care of residents who are registered with a GP practice in Glossop (33,424 May 2023); however, the Derbyshire WCS is not currently contracted to offer services to these patients. During the lifetime of the Derbyshire WCS the provider will be expected to work with commissioners from DDICB on how to integrate Glossop patients into the service. The health and social care system in Derbyshire came together as an Integrated Care System (ICS) ‘Joined Up Care Derbyshire (JUCD)’, in July 2022. Integrated care systems (ICSs) are partnerships of organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined up health and care services, and to improve the lives of people who live and work in their area. A key focus of this work is supporting people to remain independent. Locally delivered, proactive care will ensure that needs are identified, and solutions put into place at an early stage, reducing the need for crisis-led reactive care. There will be a significant shift in resources from acute settings to multi-disciplinary teams, coordinating care in local ‘places’. The provider will work collaboratively as part of the wider health and social system to ensure that the Wheelchair Service is fully embedded into this new way of working. The Derbyshire Better Care Fund has started to develop a new, joined up approach to meeting the needs of people with more complex disabilities and long-term conditions, most of whom will require a range of support and equipment to achieve positive outcomes. The ‘Equipped for Independence’ initiative will explore the viability of a much more integrated approach to assessment and planning for specialist equipment, wheelchairs and home adaptations. The provider will actively champion this approach, working with commissioners and other providers to develop this more seamless way of working.