Westminster City Council is grappling with the fallout from the liquidation of NRS Healthcare, a major provider of community equipment services. The issue, discussed at the Health & Wellbeing Board meeting on Thursday 25 September 2025, centres on the transfer of crucial data needed to maintain services for vulnerable residents. The report discussed at the meeting, titled Community Equipment Update, indicates that delays in data transfer increase the level of risk, especially for equipment already in use within the community which will require servicing and maintenance.
NRS Healthcare Ltd officially went into liquidation on 1 August 2025, ceasing operations on 15 September 2025, with PWC appointed as the official receiver. The company held approximately 44 contracts across the UK, providing community equipment and occupational therapy services, including the Complex OT service for Westminster.
The liquidation has triggered emergency measures, with the boroughs belonging to the London Community Equipment Consortium undertaking several direct awards to a variety of service providers. RBKC appointed BDO as insolvency advisors to support the Consortium members through the insolvency process.
A key challenge is the transfer of data from NRS to the new service providers. According to the meeting report, PWC is requiring data sharing agreements and a fixed non-negotiable payment
before any data can be transferred. This is causing delays and raising concerns about the continuity of care, particularly for equipment already in use within the community that requires servicing and maintenance.
The report notes that interim service arrangements are currently limited to urgent and critical cases. While fully functional service provision is being implemented across the Consortium member boroughs, the process is at different stages in each location.
To ensure the continuation of essential services, the Integrated Commissioning Team has commissioned 24/7 Health Care to deliver a temporary community equipment service for an initial six-month period. To ensure they can adequately handle the needs of vulnerable residents, the service is being met with daily to ensure contract management and support whilst at this early mobilisation and implementation stage. This includes review of activity, managing any risks and responding to prescriber feedback with adjustments agreed as required. Regular meetings with operational teams are in place along with a joint fortnightly Operations meetings across NHS and LA. A sequence of training has been delivered, and guidance documents have been shared. Communications continue to be reviewed with service. The Complex OT service in Westminster is now being provided by The Occupational Therapy Practice (TOTP).
The council is also working on longer-term solutions. A lessons learnt exercise is in progress through the Consortium team and further work in progress led through procurement with collaboration across teams, to develop future models and options to inform medium and longer-term commissioning of a Community Equipment Service,
according to the meeting documents. Integrated Commissioning are also working with procurement to support procurement options for the Complex OT service timely to coincide with contract end dates.
The provision of community equipment services is a statutory requirement under the Care Act 2014, ensuring that equipment is prescribed based on assessed need, including support for hospital discharge, palliative care, and end-of-life care.
