Freedom to Speak Up Guardian Service

Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) employs approximately 5000 staff made up of community nurses, physiotherapists, dieticians, podiatrists, dental staff, sexual health and many other health care professionals and corporate services.

KCHFT is one of the largest community health providers in England, serving a population of 1.4 million people across Kent, East Sussex and parts of London Boroughs in settings such as schools, people's homes, community clinics and community hospitals.

The Freedom to Speak up Guardian is a service each Trust in the country has to support staff to speak up in order to make suggestions for improvement or highlight if something has, or could go wrong. It is established to prevent harm, learn lessons and improve services for staff, patients and the wider population. The Freedom to Speak up Guardian is a key part of the process and the Guardian will take calls from any member of staff, signposting and supporting staff to take the next steps to resolve a current issue, or to gather themes and trends in areas highlighted to direct trust work and focus to specific areas where improvements can be made.

KCHFT are looking for a supplier to provide an independent and confidential Freedom to Speak Up Guardian Service. The service should provide all KCHFT staff with direct and confidential access to a dedicated Freedom to Speak Up Guardian 24/7/365, to discuss any matter relating to patient care, patient safety and work-related concerns. This will include everything from a simple conversation up to the formal raising or 'whistleblowing' of a serious concern or allegation.

Expressions of interest (EOI) must be submitted via the Procontract procurement portal (Proactis) under the opportunity number DN591697. Any correspondence to the Authority's staff email address will be disregarded. Please login via the following link to express your interest if already registered, or the link will also allow you to register for free and then express your interest https://procontract.due-north.com/Login (https://procontract.due-north.com/Login).

Please note that the ITT documentation (including the full specification) will be released to all suppliers who have expressed interest on closure of the EOI window.