New five-year CES contract awarded to give Sheffield residents a quality service that meets their needs

Community equipment specialist Medequip has won a competitive tender to manage Integrated Community Equipment Loan Services provision in Sheffield on behalf of Sheffield CCG and Sheffield City Council. This will be for a five-year period with effect from 1st of July 2020, with an option to extend beyond 2025 for a further two years.

Medequip operates over 40 community equipment service (CES) contracts across the UK and has a proven track record throughout West, North and South Yorkshire, working with North Yorkshire County Council, North Yorkshire CCGs and Kirklees Council.

The company is also the lead provider for the Rotherham Equipment and Wheelchair Service (REWS) which is operated on behalf of Rotherham CCG and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The Sheffield Integrated Community Equipment Loan Service and REWS will be run from Medequip’s established depot in Rotherham, benefiting from both operational efficiencies and economies of scale.

Currently, Medequip already works with prescribers in Sheffield Teaching hospitals, discharging and prescribing into the Rotherham area, so linking the two contracts geographically will result in significant synergies including the single point of prescription.

In addition, both contracts will operate on the TCES Community platform, enhancing efficiencies and improving services to the people of Sheffield, further complemented by the skills and experience of the existing Medequip team. Medequip will be working with commissioners and prescribing teams to ensure that there is also a local solution for assessments, in particular specials.

Head of Commissioning at Sheffield City Council Jo Horobin said: “An important factor in obtaining new provider services is that our customers continue to receive the best quality service to best meet their needs.  We welcome Medequip as our new provider and look forward to working with them in future.”

Medequip also has a strong reputation for smooth contract implementation and already has a team in place working towards the 1st of July ‘go live’ date, headed up by Ben Williams who was responsible for contract implementation in Rotherham.

“We look forward to welcoming the existing Sheffield CES team, who will transfer their employment across to Medequip to help with a smooth transition and continued excellence of service, going forward,” he stated.

Recently, Medequip announced what new measures it has introduced to ensure the safety of its staff and service users amid the Coronavirus pandemic, including introducing enhanced infection control prevention measures and scheduling daily COVID-19 group meetings.