Healthwatch Hull

Hull City Council invites qualified and interested suppliers to tender for the provision of a contract to secure a revised Local Healthwatch Offer in Hull, including the Independent Complaints and Advocacy Service (ICAS) - as required by law under the Health and Social Care Act, 2012.

The Authority proposes to enter into a Contract for a maximum period of two years with the successful Tenderer (Service Provider), with an option to extend for a period or periods of up to a maximum of 12 months. Such extension will be at the discretion of the Council and subject to satisfactory performance.

The anticipated service commencement date is 4 September 2017.

The local Healthwatch enables patients, children and families, adult social care adults and wider public to have a local voice when accessing and experiencing health and social care services, for example GP practices, Hospital and care home settings.

A new Service Specification has been developed as part of this new Tender, setting out the service requirements, including ensuring that the Local Healthwatch and ICAS services are accessible to all people across Hull, while meeting local needs and national expectations.

There are seven statutory functions under the guidance from the Department of Health (DOH) and Local Government Association (LGA), relating to Healthwatch and ICAS, they are:

Function 1 - Gathering views and understanding the experiences of people who use services, carers and the wider community.

Function 2 - Making people’s views known, including undertaking a level of Enter and View each year as set out within the service specification.

Function 3 - Promoting and supporting the involvement of people in the commissioning and provision of local care services and how they are scrutinised.

Function 4 - Recommending investigation or special reviews of services via Healthwatch England / Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Function 5 - Providing advice and information about access to services and support for making informed choices.

Function 6 - Making the views and experiences of people known to Healthwatch England and providing a steer to help it carry out its role as national champion.

Function 7 - NHS Complaints Advocacy.

The value of the new contract within the funding available through the DOH Local Reform and Community Voices grant 2017/18 would be a maximum of £166,385.

Details of current expenditure or potential future uptake are given in good faith as a guide to past purchasing and current planning to assist you in submitting your Tender. They should not be interpreted as an undertaking to purchase any goods or services to any particular value and do not form part of the Contract.

The Authority encourages consortia to deliver the contract for in order to provide value for money and the added value partnership working can bring.

Under this contract the Supplier will be required to actively contribute to the achievement of social objectives. These include: skills development; employment and training opportunities within the locality of where the contract will be delivered; and other added value initiatives throughout the supply chain to support community programmes promoted by the council. Accordingly contract performance conditions may relate in particular to secondary considerations.

The Authority envisages that the staff working in the current service will transfer to the Service Provider or its subcontractors, under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/246) (TUPE) along with the Services.