Guidance services

Tender description

This service specification is for the provision of a range of independent advocacy services for adults, namely: — Independent Mental Health Act Advocacy (IMHA), — Care Act Advocacy (CAA), — NHS Complaints Advocacy (NHS-CA), — Social Care Complaints Advocacy (SCCA). The contract includes an option to add Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) provision at a later date. Reading Borough Council (RBC / ‘the Council’) is looking for a Service Provider to deliver The Reading Single Independent Advocacy Services. The Council intends to contract with a single organisation for the delivery of the full specification. The Council anticipates that the contracted provider may take one of a variety of organisational forms and may include the use of sub-contractors, or involve organisations working together in a consortium approach. Please see the selection questionnaire for further details. The Reading Single Independent Advocacy Service (RSIAS) for adults will bring together the following advocacy provision under 1 contract: — Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA), — Care Act Advocacy (CAA), — NHS Complaints Advocacy, — Social Care Complaints Advocacy. It is possible that the Council may wish to include Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) at a later date under this contract. If this is the case the detailed specification and pricing will be agreed between the parties during the lifetime of the contract. Existing Service Provision The existing advocacy provision for IMHA, Care Act Advocacy and Independent NHS Complaints Advocacy in Reading is currently provided under three separate contracts. Social Care Complaints Advocacy is spot purchased as required. These services are now being retendered and integrated into a single access point provision that makes it easier for referrers and service users to navigate through the system and find the support they need. This will ensure that that people are seamlessly connected to the most appropriate advocacy service. This specification describes the outcomes RBC wants to achieve, how they should be delivered, and how RBC will monitor performance. These provisions are distinct from self-advocacy services provided for Reading adults with a learning disability (and young people with a learning disability at the point of transition into adulthood) following the Narrowing the Gap re-commissioning exercise, and also distinct from ongoing advocacy support which may be purchased with Personal Budgets. Service to be Procured Reading Borough Council wishes to procure the advocacy services listed below and a referrals management service to manage the allocation of advocates to individuals. — Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA), — Care Act Advocacy (CAA), — NHS Complaints Advocacy, — Social Care Complaints Advocacy. RBC wishes to commission advocacy services which deliver and promote key advocacy principles as per the Advocacy Charter code of practice: — Clarity of purpose, — Independence, — Person Centred Approach, — Empowerment, — Equal Opportunity, — Accessibility, — Supporting advocates, — Accountability, — Confidentiality, — Complaints, — Safeguarding. The service will support service users with advocacy services only and will refer people on to other services where these exist to provide support on issues where an advocate does not need to be involved. The Service Provider will ensure that the service does not provide (within this advocacy contract): — Befriending or social support, — Campaigning Service, — Making decisions or choices for the service user, — A mediation service, — A form of legal representation, — A counselling service, — A Support Planning or Care Brokerage Service, — Working in the ‘best interests’ of the service users (where this involves the advocate making a judgement which may be inconsistent with the expressed wishes of the service user). The commissioned service will be independent of the Council and local NHS bodies. This independence is to be maintained and the Service Provider will ensure that any sub contracted bodies also comply with this requirement. The service must command the confidence of service users and their carers and that they do not feel that the provider is unduly influenced by the commissioning body.