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Home » Workstreams » Transforming Community Equipment and Wheelchair Services Programme » Wider Implementation

Wider Implementation

Ministerial Decision

Ivan Lewis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Care Services, has endorsed the Department of Health’s support of the wider implementation of the retail model for community equipment.

Over the past few months, the retail model has been successfully piloted under a ‘shadow running’ scheme in the north west of England.  Users and their carers have been able to take an equipment prescription for simple aids-to-daily-living to an accredited retailer and receive, in exchange, the prescribed equipment. They were also able to top up this prescription to a product that better suited their lifestyle and pay the difference to the retailer. Under the new retail model, users own the equipment they obtain through prescription.

In approving wider implementation of the retail model, the Minister was particularly interested in feedback from users and their carers during shadow running. 

This feedback was obtained as part of structured research undertaken by Ipsos MORI, an independent research organisation.  Results overwhelmingly confirmed the benefits to individual users.  Some of the key findings were:

• 92% of individuals surveyed by Ipsos MORI reported their satisfaction with the new service
• 84% of individuals redeemed their prescriptions for themselves
• 89% of individuals thought it important to have the opportunity to make a choice about the aids/equipment they receive
• Only 44% of individuals were aware that they could top up their prescription for an aid or equipment that better suits their needs and 7% of these actually topped up
  

With ministerial approval to proceed, the TCES team, as part of the wider Care Services Efficiency Delivery Programme, will continue to:

• Work with local authorities and health partners to help shape and implement the retail model in their local areas
• Develop the national commissioning function, and grow and stabilise the market by  accelerating discussions with national retailers wishing to enter the market
• Build on the work to date to scope the development of a more effective supply chain solution for the complex aids-to-daily-living (beds, hoists, etc)

 

If you are interested, we would appreciate if you would email Lynne Horn at the Transforming Community Equipment Programme lynne.horn@dh.gsi.gov.uk or phone 0207 972 4467

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