NHS Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Groups Ophthalmology Services

This is a Voluntary Ex Ante notice for the purpose of transparency and is not a call for competition.

NHS South Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Redditch & Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS Wyre Forest Clinical Commissioning Group wish to re-design Ophthalmology Services in Worcestershire County. Current contracts with community providers expire in December 2018.

The purpose of this notice is to advise the market of the CCGs intent, in the interests of transparency, to work with incumbent providers to develop a pilot for the future which will integrate all aspects of this service for the GP registered population of Worcestershire. The aim of the pilot is to develop a model which provides seamless integration of eye health services across primary, community and acute care - and which resolves, on a sustainable basis, the current issues with respect to waiting time performance, system wide service inefficiency, and financial affordability. The pilot will include the development of a robust model of demand for eye health services, across the setting of care, sufficient to meet this demand in the most cost effective and efficient way.

There are currently two different commissioning arrangements and service models for community based eye health services across Worcestershire, with a consultant-led community ophthalmology service in Redditch and Bromsgrove and Community Optometry services covering South Worcestershire and Wyre Forest. Having different models of provision contributes to inequalities and inefficiencies in the provision of community and acute care - exacerbating the increasing waiting times and backlog of patients at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

The existing Community Ophthalmology contract in Redditch and Bromsgrove and Community Optometry services in South Worcestershire and Wyre Forest has been extended until December 2018. To ensure service continuity, further extensions will be offered to existing suppliers for the duration of the pilot on terms that will support the objectives of the pilot and the adoption, where appropriate, of the new service model that is currently being developed. The new model is expected to provide a system based approach providing an opportunity to develop an emerging integrated landscape, including acute care.

It is anticipated that the pilot will be a commitment by Worcestershire Acute Trust, The Practice Group and Local Optical Committee to implement a model of care that will be jointly designed with all stakeholders including the CCGs as commissioners.

This work will support Worcestershire CCGs to align to the Systems and Assurance Framework for Eye Health (SAFE) that provides a system based approach to the planning, commissioning and provision of services. We are currently not in a position to procure a system wide model of care and have established an STP wide eye health quality board to develop a future commissioning model.