Homecare Service for Lincolnshire

NHS Arden & Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (NHS AGEM CSU) on behalf of NHS Lincolnshire ICB invited suitably qualified providers to deliver their Homecare Services.

NHS Lincolnshire ICB serve a registered population of approximately 810,000 people. The demographic changes within the UK suggest that as people benefit from longer lives their need for NHS continuing health care (CHC) funding may increase due to associated co-morbidities. The purpose of the specification was to enable the ICB to commission quality care in a timely way and at a value that is clearly understood for patients within the scope of All Age Continuing Care (AACC) services arranged by the ICB for individuals whose care needs are met in their home. This includes individuals who require palliative and end of life care who are eligible for AACC.

This service was for the care for individuals over the age of 18yrs in receipt of standard or Fast Track CHC funding for whom NHS Lincolnshire ICB are the responsible commissioner. It specifies the services were to be delivered by providers.

This requirement sets out predetermined, common quality and cost requirements to be delivered by all providers across all zones.

The preferred delivery vehicle for CHC funded home care is via a personal health budget as mandated by NHSE/I. The delivery vehicle may be via a:

• notional budget,
• third party budget
• or direct payment budget.

The ICB work in partnership with the provider responsible for each zone in respect of extremely complex cases to ensure that the individuals needs are safely met.

The service aims are to deliver:

• Improved responsiveness to requests for care for CHC patients from home care providers in each zone.
• Improved quality of the care commissioned by the ICB
• High quality provision of treatment, management, and support to enable individuals to remain in their home setting.
• Personalised care based on the level of need
• Care in line with NICE recommendation
• A consistent approach to the brokerage of care packages. The ICB may commission very complex packages from a specialist service should the need arise.

There were 7 lots/zones where the Bidders had the option to bid for one, all or any combination of the zones (bidder are awarded a maximum of 3 zones). The Zones were set out in the tender documentation, with maps and indicative activity. The activity is paid based on tariffs as details in the tender documentation. The duration of the contract is 3 years with the option to extend for a further 2 years.

Providers bid via EU Supply under Quote/tender 59519 - Homecare Services in Lincolnshire.