North East Essex Integrated Community Services

Concepts

• health services
• north east essex integrated community services
• chelmsford
• colchester
• essex county council
• integrated community service model
• aims of the north east essex health
• voluntary sector services
• support service
• providers of the integral elements of the new model

Location

North East Essex

Description

NHS North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group and Essex County Council (‘the Commissioners’) have sought to commission an integrated community service model that supports the vision and aims of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing (NEE H&W) Alliance. Commissioners have set a bold and challenging goal to create multi-agency/multi-disciplinary teams in North East Essex who are empowered and supported to deliver the NEE H&W Alliance Live Well outcomes. North East Essex Integrated Community Services needs to underpin these plans, delivering a transformation of community services that seeks meaningful integration with acute, primary care networks, primary care, mental health, voluntary sector services and other NEE H&W Alliance partners to support the achievement of the strategic vision for everyone in NEE to live well. Commissioners have decided that working with an alliance of providers will be the best solution to provide affordable, sustainable and fully Integrated services. A voluntary ex ante transparency notice relating to this matter was published on 24 February 2021.

Total Quantity or Scope

Commissioners and providers will work collaboratively to ensure delivery of the alliance objectives and the standards and outcomes of North East Essex Integrated Community Services. The contract to be entered into by the Commissioners and the selected alliance partners will be the NHS Standard Contract 2021/22, and subsequent revisions thereof. In addition to the NHS Standard Service Contract the providers will be required to agree and sign an alliance agreement with each other and the Commissioners. The alliance contract will run for 10 years commencing on the 1 July 2021. The Commissioners intend to work with existing providers of the integral elements of the new model, as well as other supporting partners. Commissioners believe that the existing providers and supporting partners are uniquely placed to deliver the specifications and vision for community services as part of the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance Local Delivery Plan. In June 2020, the Commissioners published a Prior Information Notice (PIN) in OJEU inviting expressions of interest form providers willing to make the commitment to collaborate in an alliance way of working and who believed they have the necessary experience in multi-disciplinary integrated care, willing to work with other statutory providers, willing to work with the current providers and capable of financially holding and managing the scale of risk through a degree of income risk share. The PIN was not commencing a competitive process but did not exclude new entrants to the Alliance either via partnering, associate or subcontracting arrangements. The Commissioners have conducted a process that complies with the principles of transparency and equal treatment, however the Commissioners were not required (and did not intend) to run the procurement in accordance with one of the specified procedures in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020) (e.g. Restricted, Open, etc.). The Commissioners have, therefore, utilised the flexibilities available to them under the 'light touch regime' in conducting this process. The Commissioners have opted to undertake a due diligence assessment alongside dialogue, which has formed the basis of 'Structured Dialogue'. To achieve this vision, the current Services that were subject to the original PIN included: - musculoskeletal, pain and therapies including paediatric therapies - homecare and support service - community nursing and intermediate care - falls - strength and balance - cardiology - stroke rehabilitation - community beds - audiology - ophthalmology - community continence and urology - diagnostics - lymphoedema - crisis response. In accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (a) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020), the services covered by the arrangement may change and expand as the partnerships develop through an alliance contract. Examples of areas that could be considered by the Alliance for future delivery include but are not limited to Cataract, Glaucoma, Reablement, Diabetes, and Integrated Crisis Response services within North East Essex. The Commissioners will continue to engage with stakeholders as appropriate throughout the mobilisation and subsequent phases of the contract.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

In accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (a) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020), the services covered by the arrangement may change and expand as the partnerships develop through an alliance contract. Examples of areas that could be considered by the Alliance for future delivery include but are not limited to Cataract, Glaucoma, Reablement, Diabetes, and Integrated Crisis Response services within North East Essex. The Commissioners will continue to engage with stakeholders as appropriate throughout the mobilisation and subsequent phases of the contract.

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85100000 - Health services

Indicators

• Options are available.
• Award on basis of price and quality.

Legal Justification

In June 2020, the Commissioners published a PIN in OJEU inviting expressions of interest form providers willing to make the commitment to collaborate in an alliance way of working and capable of financially holding and managing the scale of risk through a degree of income risk share. Several expressions of interest were received from a number of providers. Since then, the Commissioners have engaged in discussions with delivery partners and associates within this group of providers, and now intend to award the contract on the basis that the listed organisations are the only providers with the requisite capacity and capability to provide the integrated community services, in line with the North East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance Local Delivery Plan. The CCG believes: - This alliance approach to the implementation of the new integrated community services model will build a resilient community approach by engaging providers from across the system in the delivery of community services whilst also supporting the wider system vision for the move towards an Integrated Care System (ICS), working towards the establishment of whole system community service collaboration through an Alliance contracting model. This will build upon the broader Alliance infrastructure and relationships that have been developed since inception of the Alliance. - This integrated system approach to service delivery will guide the patient to the correct level of care and treatment, and this works best with system partners working collectively, while supporting a smoother patient pathway, promoting a trusted assessor approach and reducing the number of patient hand-offs. - There will be the integration of services to reduce duplication and prevent patients having to retell their stories, making it simple for patients and professionals to access the support they need. Reduce the complexity of care for service users and other professionals, making it seamless at the point of delivery. - This collective ownership of responsibilities for delivering a whole system approach will enable greater shared responsibility for managing system pressures with shared outcomes and performance measures across all providers e.g. any loss or gain is linked with performance overall not individual parties, The Alliance will determine how it will reinvest in service transformation (in full or in part). - There will move away from traditional commissioning models, to a population-based approach, with ever greater integration of health and local authority services and greater parity between physical and mental health. - The implementation of Neighbourhood Teams will be practical and make sense for communities (e.g. geography, rural/urban, road networks). As far as possible, be sympathetic to the new primary care groupings. As far as possible, be sympathetic to other key partners' operating models (e.g. police). Make connections to the Hub & Spoke model. - The role of the local authorities will be crucial in the implementation. With responsibility for key services, which have a direct impact health and wellbeing and their wider determinants, such as housing - including provision of disabled facilities grants (DFGs) - planning, leisure, open spaces and environmental health, second tier local authorities have a clear role in improving the health of the population in North East Essex. The formation and work to deliver against the Better Care Fund (BCF) and Improved Better Care Fund requirements have further cemented working partnership; the oversight and recommendations of the BCF will be central to the Alliance governance. - Through the mobilisation of 6 multi-agency/multi-disciplinary teams, neighbourhood plans are being designed to improve population health in local communities.

Other Information

The services to which this process relates fall within Schedule 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended by The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020) ("the Regulations"). As such, the Commissioners do not intend to hold themselves bound by any of the Regulations, save those applicable to Schedule 3 Services.