Sarah Champion MP has lent her support to the local health and social care sector following a visit to Rotherham-based medical equipment supplier, Harvest Healthcare. The visit provided an opportunity to highlight the urgent pressures facing suppliers of critical medical equipment amid a national crisis in community care funding and delivery.
The visit took place at Harvest’s headquarters, where the Labour MP for Rotherham was given an in-depth tour of the supplier and manufacturer’s premises, including an overview of its range of medical beds, pressure care products and industry-leading decontamination facilities for active mattresses. During the visit, Harvest emphasised the increasing strain faced by suppliers and local authorities alike due to a lack of adequate government funding.
Sarah Champion MP, a longstanding advocate for health and social care services, was briefed on the growing crisis in Community Equipment Services (CES) — services that sit at the heart of safe hospital discharge and care at home, yet remain significantly under-resourced. The discussion covered the far-reaching impact of budget constraints on local authorities and the knock-on effects on the sustainability of vital equipment supply chains.
Harvest also highlighted how broader cost pressures, including rising Employer National Insurance Contributions and the increase to the National Living Wage, have exacerbated the situation for the sector. These financial strains have resulted in both suppliers and customers freezing recruitment, ultimately leading to a direct impact on timely patient care and increased pressures on the NHS.
Sarah Champion MP, MP for Rotherham, said:
“The work being done by Harvest and the wider community equipment sector is absolutely vital for the health and wellbeing of some of our most vulnerable residents. I was deeply concerned to hear just how close to breaking point many community services are due to funding pressures and rising costs. These issues urgently need national attention if we are to deliver safe, timely, and dignified care in people’s homes.”
Mike Burns, Managing Director of Harvest Healthcare, said:
“We are proud to support Long term Care facilities, the NHS and local community services through innovative, durable, and cost-effective equipment. But we’re at a critical juncture where insufficient investment and funding for local authority and community equipment services is putting quality patient care at risk. This impacts all of us and our families. It’s incredibly reassuring to see Sarah Champion take the time to hear directly from our sector, and we hope today’s visit will help motivate wider action to safeguard community care services.”
As a member of the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA), Harvest Healthcare are signed up to the association’s code of practice setting best practice and responsibility standards for medical equipment and service providers. The BHTA are currently supporting their members involved in community care services – such as Harvest – by raising attention to the so-called ‘CES crisis’ resulting in shortages in vital medical equipment in community care settings and exacerbating hospital discharge delays. The BHTA are calling for urgent support for this vital cornerstone of the wider social care system, that supports over 4 million patients annually at no additional cost to the NHS.
David Stockdale, Chief Executive Officer of the British Healthcare Trades Association, said:
“Our members operating in this sector are under more strain than ever before, and this is having a direct impact on the quality of care people receive. Visits like this are crucial. They allow MPs to hear directly from those keeping the system going despite huge pressures. The concerns raised today highlight currently extreme pressures on the wider industry, caused by a concoction of regulatory and financial changes and inefficiencies impacting critical medical supply chains and, ultimately, patients who rely on these vital pieces of equipment to live healthily and independently.”
ENDS.
