Provision for STI Sampling

Concepts

• ashford
• health services
• sti sampling services
• sti sampling
• online sampling
• sti
• sampling
• direct award process c
• hiv syphilis
• viral hepatitis testing

Location

ASHFORD

Description

Postal and online Sampling for STIs

Total Quantity or Scope

This contract is for the provision of STI sampling services, including: • Online portal assessment for and provision of postal kit for STI and viral hepatitis testing (Gonorrhoea, Chlamydia, HIV Syphilis). • 1st line treatment for uncomplicated Chlamydia infection • Referral and support into care • Provision of surveillance and monitoring data • Provision of condoms and lubricant • Sign posting, information and support The Authority is intending to award this contract to an existing provider following direct award process C as per the Provider Selection Regime The approximate life time value of this contract is circa £887,600.00 The contract / services shall be provided from 01/08/2024 to a maximum term of 31/07/2028

Award Detail

Renewal Options

This contract has an initial term of 2 years, followed by an optional extension of 2 years, with a maximum term of no longer than 4 years.

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85100000 - Health services

Indicators

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

Legal Justification

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding 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 publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by 31/07/2024. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR

Other Information

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding 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 publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to decision makers by 31/07/2024. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR. Any representations must be made in writing and sent via email to connor.hubbard@nhs.net Award Decision Makers are: - Head of Service: Integrated Sexual Health - Chief Finance Officer There were zero conflicts of interest identified. The Key Criteria the authority considered when decision make was considered of equal importance and weighting due to the nature of the contract and it's service delivery. The rationale with reference to each criteria is as follows: Quality and Innovation: KCHFT have worked with Preventx since 2021 to deliver online STI home self-sampling services and have dispatched over 10,000 tests. SH:UK were also rated as outstanding in their last CQC review in all 5 domains Since commencement of the contract. SHUK have consistently met all KPI's that have been set and their patient experience and feedback has always been excellent. Through the Preventx 'local clinic model', KCHFT are responsible for Clinical Patient Management (CPM) of their residents through the online service (including safeguarding flags, reactive results, management of positives). This provides a seamless journey when users need to be referred into clinic, which is particularly important when there is a reactive blood result. The local clinical model allows the KCHFT team to cross reference records on their clinical record system when a safeguarding flag is raised through the online service. In this time they have been able to further develop the offer to include additional tests such as Syphilis RPR, Hep B, Hep C, TV and MGen. We are also able to ask females if they have anal and/or oral sex and provide the appropriate swabs. Preventx also have developed a triage for users with mild and complex symptoms. If this was implemented, testing could be expanded (e.g., females with vaginal discharge being tested for TV). Preventx research on TV testing was presented at BASHH. Value: The kits are produced in-house and posted first class, same day (before 4pm) Monday to Saturday. They include all required consumables (swabs, urine, microtubes for bloods), personalised instructions and links to videos. Kits are CE marked, compact, discrete, and environmentally friendly. The packaging design ensures that the contents are protected in transit. An SMS is sent 2 days after kit dispatch to coincide with user receiving kit with link to help videos. the instructions and SMS user prompts have been iteratively developed over 13 years and achieve a high return rate of 78% to 80.5%. Samples are tested in Preventx's in-house laboratory, which is a CQC registered UKAS and ISO 15189 accredited medical laboratory and only performs testing for our own services. Once returned to the laboratory, samples are booked in and the user receives an SMS informing them they will receive their results within 72 hours. In 2022, SH:UK dispatched over 1.3m kits and completed over 3.5 million tests in our laboratory. 98% of samples processed by the Preventx lab are turned around within 48 hours. Another value adding element is the partnership that is provided with this contract as it also utilises the skill and knowledge of local services to follow up on treatments, partner notification and safeguarding flags that are raised. The framework from which this was procured originally clearly shows that from a cost perspective SH:Uk offered more competitive pricing than other online providers whilst still offering quality of service and value. The online service also offers value in the monetary sense in that we have never exceeded our prescribed budget but that it would also cost more for us as an organisation to be able to offer this service in house and our current lab provider does not have the infrastructure to be able to turn around tests results as quickly as SH:UK or indeed the IT portal for patients to be able to track their kits or access their test results. Integration, Collaboration and Service sustainability: At present within Medway our current commissioning contract is due to end March 2025, due to the short time frame involved and the uncertainty of future contracts it is necessary to look to this route of procurement rather than commence a full tender under PCR 2015 . This will ensure sustainability of service and integration into other related services for the people of Medway and continuation of service whilst the questions surrounding our main contract are resolved. Improving Access, Reducing health inequalities and facilitating choice: Preventx have been working in partnership with Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust to Medway residents since November 2021 in the delivery of an online home self-sampling service. Direct access to the service via www.sh.uk in addition to online referral routes including Sexual health | Sexual health | Medway Council and Welcome to Clover Street, the Medway sexual health hub. Since the service commenced, there have been over 10,000 orders fulfilled and over 7,000 screens completed. Preventx's service management and reporting has been developed in line with Public Health England's Sexual Health and Inequalities toolkit (2021) to monitor sexual health inequalities at a local level. We provide all orders and positives broken down by Gender; Sex and Sex with; Age; Ethnicity; Deprivation and Classification embedded in the service account management and reported to the service on a quarterly basis as a minimum. Data from the Medway online self-sampling service demonstrates all cohorts of users in terms of gender; sexuality, sex with; age; ethnicity and deprivation access the service; often to a higher degree than their representation within the population. This Evidences the acceptance and accessibility of the service to Medway residents. Of note, users from African; Caribbean and White and Black African/ Caribbean backgrounds are accessing the service to higher proportion that within the population, Social Value: Plastic waste is a significant issue, particularly in healthcare. Almost a quarter of the NHS's waste in England and Wales is plastic, according to NHS Supply Chain. Preventx recently changed all of their self testing Kits to reduce plastic and made a reduction of more than 80%, in doing this they are saving 10 tonnes of plastic per year and this does not include the environmental benefits due to a reduction in the weight of their testing kits. They achieved this in collaboration with service users via surveys and focus groups to help inform the changes. Other environmental factors for online testing mean that people do not have to travel to access services as this can be achieved from their own home. This reduces further carbon emissions related with the required travel to and from testing locations, and reduces the consequent potential air pollution in these areas. It also increases accessibility of services for patients, research also shows that online testing is acceptable for all demographics that may not access traditional healthcare services, which can lead to an improved social well-being as patients who cannot access services such as this due to location constraints, now have access.