Waltham Forest Council is set to spend £656,149 on an emergency Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES) following the insolvency of NRS Healthcare. Councillor Louise Mitchell, Portfolio Lead Member for Adults and Health, approved the direct award of two contracts to Enabled Living, a Local Authority Trading Company (LATCO) owned by Newham Council, to ensure the continuation of essential services for residents.

The move comes after NRS Healthcare, the previous provider commissioned by the London Consortium, formally filed for insolvency on 1 August 2025.1 This prompted Waltham Forest Council to rapidly establish interim arrangements to avoid disruption to community equipment services. Clear prioritisation protocols are being implemented to manage risks effectively.

The council and North East London Integrated Care Board (NEL ICB) jointly fund the ICES, with a total expenditure of £3.2 million in 2024/25. The contracts awarded to Enabled Living include:

  • An Integrated Discharge Hub Plus (IDH Plus) contract, which began on 4 August 2025, for six months, with a possible six-month extension. This contract focuses on fulfilling 15 priority orders per day from clinicians across the health and social care system, ensuring the delivery and repair of community equipment, including specialist equipment. It also covers equipment delivery to a peripheral store at Whipps Cross Hospital and up to 20 monthly orders for specialist equipment.
  • A Non-Urgent Community Equipment Services Contract, effective from 3 September 2025, for 23 weeks, also with a potential six-month extension. This contract will handle up to 550 orders per month, with an additional 20 special orders. A fifth of these orders will be processed through a local community equipment store, using a click-and-collect system.

The IDH Plus contract is valued at £448,347, including £47,000 for mobilisation costs, while the Non-Urgent Community Equipment Service Contract is priced at £207,802 for 23 weeks, according to the Public reports pack 03rd-Sep-2025 16.30 Executive Decision.

The Senior Leadership Team (SLT), the Equipment Oversight Group, and an Extraordinary Safeguarding Children Board (SCB) approved the emergency contract with Enabled Living. The council selected Enabled Living due to their ability to quickly mobilise contingency plans and the collaborative benefits of working with them. The contracts with Enabled Living provide capacity to deliver up to 53% of the council's community equipment offer while the full integrated community equipment service offer is scaled up.

The contracts aim to:

  • Maintain essential equipment services for hospital discharge and urgent care.
  • Stabilise service delivery within Waltham Forest.
  • Prevent negative outcomes for residents and the health and social care system.
  • Provide capacity for up to 53% of the council's community equipment needs while the full ICES is scaled up.
  • Establish a foundation for a long-term commissioning strategy. The full integrated community equipment service offer is expected to be scaled up via a direct award to Enabled Living in October 2025 for 12 months with the option to extend by up to a further 6 months. Key considerations include ensuring resident safety and supporting people to remain well and independent in their communities.
  • Ensure resident safety.

Enabled Living has agreed to an open book approach and a quality improvement methodology, reviewing scale up of service frequently with clinicians and commissioners to improve service delivery and ensure value for money. This approach will help ensure Enabled Living provides better value for money compared to NRS Healthcare. While a full Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was not possible due to the emergency nature of the contract, initial analysis suggests the service will improve access to essential equipment for vulnerable residents. Climate-related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), such as the use of low-emission vehicles (percentage of deliveries using low-emission vehicles) and the reuse of equipment (percentage of reused or recycled equipment), will be developed during mobilisation, and Enabled Living will be held accountable for achieving them.

1: The meeting information does not provide specific reasons for NRS Healthcare's insolvency or mention any prior warning signs.