Market Engagement: Provision of Core and Extended Primary Medical Services to the Homeless and Vulnerably Housed in Brighton & Hove

NHS England and Brighton and Hove City CCG are seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from providers who have the capability and capacity to undertake a contract for the provision of core and extended primary medical services to the homeless and vulnerably housed in Brighton & Hove, and would wish to take to part in a potential procurement exercise. The procurement is likely to commence in June 2016, and the new contract is due to begin in February 2017.

The contract term is envisaged to be for an initial 3 year period, with the option to renew for a further two years; this is subject to approval and the precise term will be advised at a later date. The contract value will have an annual value in the region of £680,000.

This will comprise the provision of core primary medical services to the target population but will also include wider responsibilities for system leadership, in-reach/out-reach and the provision of engagement workers as part of the overall contract. More detail will be available as the procurement process proceeds.

Brighton and Hove have a high level of homelessness and numbers are increasing. Those who find themselves homeless are often extremely vulnerable with complex needs including: physical, mental health and substance misuse needs.

They may be excluded from or have difficulty engaging with mainstream services, relying instead on hospital based services such as A&E. Services are often set up to respond to an individual need rather than provide holistic care.

Based on evidence from elsewhere and findings from our homeless health audit, a proposal has been developed for an integrated and flexible model of care based on a hub and spoke. It is anticipated that the new model of care will improve access to health care and health outcomes, resulting in a reduced reliance on emergency and unplanned care.

General Practice is the key element of the Hub. The hub within the model provides for a dedicated, list-based, primary care response in the city centre, to provide essential primary care services for this vulnerable group.

It will also provide coordination and leadership for the multidisciplinary team, bringing together a range of other services including community, and mental health and care services and the voluntary sector. The model allows for in-reach and outreach, such as providing specialist support to secondary care and other GP practices in the city to support them with any registered homeless or vulnerably housed patients.

There has been a general practice aimed specifically at homeless people for a number of years in the city which has had a growing registered population (currently 1,391 registered on 1 April 2016). It is envisaged that the service will be provided from the current premises in Morley Street in Brighton city centre (although there may be flexibility over this over the course of the contract).

Further information in the additional text section Additional information: Improving health outcomes for the homeless population is a priority and a key element of the Brighton and Hove Better Care Plan. To register on In-Tend please visit: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Registration The Provider Sounding Questionnaire can be accessed by selecting ‘View Synopsis’, visible in the Tender tab of the Tender Management page.

Please send the completed questionnaire by correspondence on the below project: NHS E South (South East) - Procurement for the provision of Core and Extended Primary Medical Services to the Homeless and Vulnerably Housed in Brighton & Hove SCW/NHSEQ81/00000209/2016 This notice is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right, and therefore publication or response does not commit NHS England or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest. NHS England will not be liable for costs incurred by any interested party in participating in this exercise.