Northamptonshire County Council Falls Prevention Service

As part of its strategic approach to protecting and improving the health and wellbeing of Northamptonshire citizens and reduce inequalities, Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) Public Health is seeking to procure a Falls Prevention Service.

The intention is that this Falls Prevention Service will be part of the Mild Frailty pathway currently being developed by NCC Public Health, targeted at those people showing signs of mild frailty with a view to supporting them to maintain and control their own independence.

Frailty is defined as a "clinically recognised state of increased vulnerability resulting from a decline in the body's physical and psychological reserves", meaning that relatively small events such as a minor fall or change in medication have disproportionately large impacts.

Frailty is not a static state; there is good evidence to suggest that early identification and support can not only prevent deterioration but can support people to move towards a less frail or even fit state. Doing so provides an opportunity to prevent or substantially reduce future health care use and increase quality of life.

Recognising falls as a syndrome of frailty provides an opportunity for the falls prevention service to assess and apply effective prevention for frailty, be part of the wider system response to frailty, and reduce the risk of future falls.

The Falls Prevention Service will be integral to the response to frailty and will not operate in isolation. The successful provider will be part of the Mild Frailty pathway developed by NCC Public Health, and will ensure that the service is responsive and flexible in response to local needs and with the Mild Frailty pathway as this programme of work evolves.

The Northamptonshire Falls Prevention Service will be delivered by a multi-disciplinary team, undertaking multi-factorial assessment in line with best practice guidance, and operating on a countywide basis. The detailed requirements are set out in the Specification.

The Provider is required to deliver services from 1st April 2019 for a contract period of 2 years (up to 31st March 2021) with no option to extend. The Authority believes that TUPE does apply to this contract at its commencement. The deadline for completed ITTs to be received on the LGSS eTendering Portal is 12:00noon on Friday 2nd November 2018.