Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster join forces in £150m home care contract
Equipment loans “helping people to live independently as long as possible”
Vital equipment to help Sheffield people with health conditions live independent lives at home is to be supplied by a new service that will also serve Rotherham and Doncaster.
Sheffield City Council is joining forces with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, City of Doncaster Council and South Yorkshire NHS Integrated Care Board to jointly fund the £150m, 10-year contract to run from from May 2027.
A special meeting of the city council’s adult health and social care policy committee today (October 14) agreed to head up the process of finding a firm to take on the contract. Sheffield currently uses Medequip, who will stay in place until next May.
Catherine Bunten, council director of quality, strategy and partnerships, told the committee that the equipment loan service is “preventing the escalation of [service users’] health and social care needs and helping people to live independently as long as possible”.
She said that sharing the service between three South Yorkshire local authorities could improve the efficiency of the service as resources are being shared.
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Coun Ruth Milsom said: “Equipment is kind of a boring thing to a lot of people, not worth spending much time on.
“It’s worth spending time on because it’s so important to the health and social care system and how people are comfortable in their own homes.”
Matt Bowsher, strategic director of adult care and wellbeing, sent a message to potential contract bidders: “If you’re not a mature, sustainable organisation, please don’t waste our time tabling a bid.”
He added: “We have the skill sets in the council to manage this properly. This joint approach shows a vote of confidence.”