Council to settle £163k bill with health service supplier

The spending came in the wake of “serious disruption” to the supply of occupational therapy equipment in the borough, reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Haringey Council is set to pay back more than £160,000 to a health service supplier it used after its previous provider went bust.

The decision was made by Tehseen Khan, cabinet member for adults and health, yesterday (Tuesday 20th).

The spending came in the wake of “serious disruption” to the supply of occupational therapy equipment in the borough when the council’s previous provider, Nottingham Rehab Limited, trading as NRS Healthcare, went bust in August last year

In response, the local authority called on subcontractor Accora Limited to deliver extra services at short notice as part of an “urgent” need to meet short-term demands for “community equipment services”.

Before it went out of business, NRS Healthcare was, at full capacity, responsible for delivering “over 17,000 pieces of equipment” to around 2,500 residents each month in Haringey.

The council says the service is used by “prescribers” of occupational therapy equipment and is needed to “supply vital equipment to residents who are newly coming out of hospital, who are in the community with a long-term need”.

It is also used “to help residents maintain independence at home, reducing or eliminating the need for a long-term package of care”.

In a report, officers said the council was forced into exceeding the originally agreed maximum £499,999 value of its contract with its subcontractor Accora by 33%.

The local authority says its arrangement with Accora “was required to maintain continuity of statutory community equipment provision while medium to long-term arrangements were established”.

The “short-term arrangement” with Accora was put in place to prevent an “absence of community equipment provision” which “would have had an immediate impact on vulnerable residents” and threatened to undermine the council’s ability to meet its legal responsibilities.

The local authority says the company “was, and remains, a valued sub-contractor”, adding: “When NRS collapsed, Accora agreed to pivot their business model in the short-term to provide a delivery and collection service of their own equipment directly to residents.”

Following Tuesday’s decision, it will now pay back the final £163,000 “validated outstanding accrued liability” it owes Accora.

The council noted that there would be a “risk of legal action, additional cost and reputational damage” if it does not make the payment “promptly once the reconciliation has concluded”.

The local authority also reaffirmed that the money will be used to pay back services already delivered to the council and is “not as approval for any new service provision or further contractual commitment”.

The council’s main supplier of occupational therapy equipment is now Provide Community Equipment, a community interest company that describes itself as “the largest not-for-profit community equipment service in the UK”.

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