Integrated Sexual Health Service (ISHS) in the County of Staffordshire

Staffordshire County Council (SCC) is running a Sexual Health marketplace engagement event on Friday 21st August 2015 at the Gatehouse theatre, Eastgate Street, Stafford, ST16 2LT from 9.30am to 1.00pm to support the future procurement of a new ISHS to be launched later this year.

The ISHS will improve sexual health by providing easy access to services through open access "one stop shops" where the majority of sexual health and contraception needs can be met on one site, usually by one health professionals, in services with extended opening hours and accessible locations. We would also like to see a cultural shift, moving from reactive, treatment dominated philosophy to a more proactive, preventative approach.

It is anticipated that in order to achieve this model of care, a prime provider will be required who shall develop partnerships via sub-contracting arrangements with other qualified and appropriate providers within primary care, third sector community services that have direct contact with target populations.

The main reason for the event is to provider a structured networking opportunity to actively encourage organisations to explore possible working relationships to achieve the required model of care, although there will be an opportunity to update providers on the current draft specification and recent market place consultations.

We wish all providers of Sexual Health Services (covering every area from specific clinical care to more generic health promotion) to come along and participate in this event.

we have already run some marketplace engagement meetings in January and May 2015, of which summary feedback can be found at: http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/health/publichealth/sexual-health.aspx

Please email: shmarketevent@staffordshire.gov.uk to attend the event and also request a one to one feedback session with SCC commissioners. An agenda will be sent out w/c 17th August 2015.

Also, would any providers interested in this future opportunity please; register an expression of interest, using the above reference number for this process on our E-tendering Alito system http://www.staffordshire.alito.co.uk Please note do not use the full stop at the end of the reference number when searching on Alito.

A copy of the current draft specification will be available here for you to download and review prior to the event.

For the avoidance of doubt this is a market engagement event and not a call for competition.