PRJ 1171 NHS SEL ICB - Bexley Urgent Treatment Service

NHS South-East London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB) wish to commission the following

• an in hours and out-of-hours Urgent Treatment Service (UTC)
• a GP Out of Hours Home Visiting Service (GP OOH HV )

The intention is to commission one service that includes both these services.

Bexley

The borough of Bexley has two standalone UTC sites these are at

• Queen Mary’s Hospital (QMS) which is open 24/7
• Erith Hospital which is open seven days a week 0800 – 2200.

SEL ICB is looking for an urgent care provider who will be innovative in their ways of working to meet the increasing and changing demand for urgent care, as the population needs evolve over the lifetime of the contract, including peak demand periods such as during the winter months.

The overall vision for the UTC is that patients should expect the same standard of care & service delivery whatever the time of day and at whichever UTC location across the UK, in line with the National UTC Principles & Standards. The successful provider will be expected to comply with these principles by embedding internal protocols to maintain consistency in terms of staffing, service provision & operational processes.

The service will be GP-led but with a multi-disciplinary workforce. This workforce will work with system partners to ensure that patients are seen in the right place at the right time according to their clinical and wellbeing needs.

The UTC provider will be expected to develop close working relationships with other providers within the Urgent and Emergency Care (UEC) system, as well as other local Bexley stakeholders and patients’ groups. As integration builds over the course of the contract the UTC provider might be expected to join an NHS Alliance agreement with other interdependent services as well as develop an Outcomes based approach.

The scope of the UTC will include same day urgent primary care, minor illness, and minor injuries. There will be no restrictions on age groups for patients accessing UTC services. The Home Visiting element of the service will provide urgent home visits when GP surgeries are typically closed, from 6.30pm to 8am weekdays, all day at weekends and all day on Bank Holidays.

The successful bidder can phase the mobilisation of the services during February and July 2023 – but all services under the new contract must be operational by the 1st of August 2023. The maximum contract term is 7 years (3yrs + 2yrs + 2yrs optional extensions) and we anticipate that the maximum value over a 7 year contract period is £26,894,000. The SEL ICB is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced healthcare providers who can provide demonstrable evidence of a record of accomplishment in delivering high quality and effective urgent treatment services and Out-of-Hours Home Visiting services, as set in the ITT documentation

Further information on the procurement can access via this web link:

https://procontract.due-north.com/Procurer/Advert/AdvertSummary?projectId=dd98aefc3713-ed11-8117-005056b64545&projectStepId=c751da49-1155-ed11-811a-005056b64545