Continuing Healthcare (CHC) on behalf of NHS Wandsworth & Merton CCG

NHS Wandsworth & Merton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCGs) is looking to engage with qualified and experienced providers to express their interest and inform the design of a system to ensure achievement of the required outcomes with respect to Continuing Healthcare (CHC), which for this purpose includes Funded Nursing Care (FNC) and joint packages of care.

The solution will include within its scope:

• Discharge their statutory duties with regard to CHC, to commission high quality, safe and effective care that provides value for money, including managing associated spending year-on-year.

• Comply with national operational guidance and standards with regard to NHS CHC (NHS England Operating Model for NHS Continuing Healthcare October 2018).

• Deal fairly and in a timely way with all claims, appeals and disputes in respect of individuals seeking CHC and in accordance with locally agreed policy and nationally guidance.

• Design and procure placements and/or care packages that meet the needs of eligible individuals, per existing Pan London and local agreements.

• Involve eligible individuals (or their representatives) in the design and ongoing assessment of the care being provided and also offer relevant individuals the ability to self-administer personal health budgets in respect of their CHC.

• Continually monitor and assure their selves of the quality and safety of providers supplying CHC in all associated care settings and, where quality or safety cannot be assured, acts to remedy this in a timely fashion and to inform other agencies of shortcomings, as appropriate.

• Work with the children continuing care team to ensure transition from children to adult continuing healthcare is well managed and seamless.

The aim of this early market engagement exercise is also to gauge potential interest in this contract opportunity and field for innovative service models.

All feedback received will assist to determine the CCGs procurement strategy including whether a competitive procurement process is appropriate; specifically the CCG requires your input and help in defining and providing supporting information that is relevant to this service.

The contract value is expected to be circa. £1.7m per year. The length of this contract is yet to be determined by the contracting authorities.

Expressions of interest are now invited by way of completion and return of the attached Market Engagement Questionnaire and appropriate attachments by 3pm, 31 August 2018.

Additional information: Participation in the engagement exercise is not a mandatory requirement for participating in any potential future procurement; however, responses received will assist to inform the Commissioner as to the level of interest from the market and will be used to evidence a decision as to whether or not to undertake a competitive procurement. CONFIRMATION OF YOUR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST IS THEREFORE IMPORTANT.