Community Substance Misuse Service

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Intention to Award Notice. The award of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award.

The Contracting Authority intends to award the contract using Direct Award Process C, having determined that the existing provider is satisfying the current contract and is likely to satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard having regard to the key criteria and basic selection criteria set out in the Regulations.

This notice serves as an intention to award only. The contract has not yet been formally awarded.

The Council has a strong track record of collaborative working to reduce drug related harm. Despite this, the borough continues to experience high levels of drug related deaths, often linked to chronic physical and mental health conditions. These harms disproportionately affect the most deprived communities, with 77% of opiate clients residing in the most deprived areas.

The Wirral Drugs Strategy 2023-2027 provides a local framework for reducing drug related harm. It is based on a comprehensive needs assessment and was codeveloped through engagement with key stakeholders. The strategy aligns with the Wirral Working Together Plan 2023-2027, the Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022- 2027, and national strategies, including From Harm to Hope and Dame Carol Black's independent review.

Public Health Implications - the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) sets out a vision to improve and protect the health of the nation, with a particular focus on improving the health of the poorest, fastest. The procurement of an all-age, community-based treatment and recovery service aligns with four high-level PHOF indicators for health improvement:

• Successful completion of drug and alcohol treatment
• Deaths from drug and alcohol use
• Adults with a treatment need engaging in treatment following release from prison
• Hospital admissions for alcohol-related conditions

There is a strong national focus on reducing drug-related harm, with a recent Independent Review (national review led by Dame Carol Black) and the publication of a national 10-year drug strategy, From Harm to Hope.

The national strategy acknowledges systemic problems and emphasises the importance of better integrated services in order to deliver on the priority of becoming a world-class treatment and recovery system.