Wokingham

Wokingham District Council’s decision-making executive is set to consider supplementary funding of £25,600 for the Berkshire Community Equipment Store (BCES) at its meeting on Thursday February 23.

BCES delivers equipment to aid daily living of frail and disabled residents across all of Berkshire and Wokingham. The service is managed by the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Trust by joint arrangement and a pooled budget between all six Berkshire unitary councils and the six primary care trusts. If agreed by the ten-strong Wokingham executive, the additional funding will be the district council’s share of the cost of internal works to a new building and associated rent.

Following a review of the service, it was agreed that the two current sites are not fit for purpose. The new site in Theale will have larger and safer facilities and offer better opportunities for efficiencies from recycling equipment.

The new site will produce savings as follows:-

* Efficiency – staff will be able to communicate more effectively, be more flexible and will stop duplication of services

* Economy – the resources used to transport equipment between the two sites will be saved and a new more effective decontamination unit will allow more equipment to be recycled.

* Effectiveness – delivery of equipment within set time periods will be more easily achieved

* Equity – all equipment will be on one site and a new computer system will allow the tracking of equipment and fair distribution of the service to those in need.

Wokingham Cllr Pauline Helliar-Symons, executive member for social care services and housing, said: “Berkshire Community Equipment Services delivers an essential service to enable frail and disabled people across Berkshire to live independently; this is in line with all Wokingham District Council community care policies. Expansion and improved efficiency of this service are both to be welcomed, and will be made possible by this proposed move to new premises. “Sometimes people only need to borrow equipment, such as wheelchairs or walking sticks, for a short while after they have been in hospital. I would like to take this opportunity to ask anyone who has borrowed equipment that they have finished with to return it. Such a lot is not returned, often because people don’t realise it needs to be, or just forget, but it does cost us all thousands of pounds every year in lost equipment."

Wokingham District Council