Health and social work services

Tender description

Shropshire Council wishes to commission a local Healthwatch and a local Independent NHS Complaints Advocacy Service (IHCAS). Healthwatch and IHCAS will be offered as an integrated service. Bidders may submit a tender which proposes a sub-contracting arrangement for IHCAS. Shropshire Council is looking for proposals which recognise the benefits of an integrated Healthwatch and IHCAS or close operational links between Healthwatch and IHCAS which make the most efficient use of resources. Total maximum funding available for Healthwatch and IHCAS will be 162 000 GBP per annum. Bidders should indicate how the total funding is allocated to each element of the integrated service or how much they propose to allocate to IHCAS in the event of a sub-contracting arrangement. Shropshire Council will expect bidders to demonstrate and identify where efficiencies are gained through their proposed approach. Shropshire Council wishes to commission a local Healthwatch and a local Independent NHS Complaints Advocacy Service (IHCAS). Healthwatch and IHCAS will be offered as an integrated service. Bidders may submit a tender which proposes a sub-contracting arrangement for IHCAS. Shropshire Council is looking for proposals which recognise the benefits of an integrated Healthwatch and IHCAS or close operational links between Healthwatch and IHCAS which make the most efficient use of resources. Total maximum funding available for Healthwatch and IHCAS will be 162 000 GBP per annum. Bidders should indicate how the total funding is allocated to each element of the integrated service or how much they propose to allocate to IHCAS in the event of a sub-contracting arrangement. Shropshire Council will expect bidders to demonstrate and identify where efficiencies are gained through their proposed approach. Healthwatch Shropshire Council wishes to commission a local Healthwatch organisation in accordance with all relevant legislation and as summarised in the February 2014 guidance from Healthwatch England ‘Understanding the Legislation: An overview of the legal requirements for local Healthwatch’. Healthwatch Shropshire will be a body corporate which is a social enterprise and will use the Healthwatch trademark under licence from Healthwatch England in relation to its activities. Healthwatch Shropshire will be influential in the health and social care ‘landscape’ in Shropshire and will have productive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders across the county including, but not limited to, the local authority, health bodies, GP practices, patient and service user representative groups, service providers, voluntary and community groups and organisations and the general public. Healthwatch Shropshire will have mutually beneficial strategic and operational relationships with neighbouring local Healthwatch and other local organisations as appropriate. Opportunities will be sought to make the most efficient use of resources with other local Healthwatch, for example sharing expertise, intelligence and/or other resources. IHCAS Shropshire Council wishes to commission an Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service (IHCAS) in accordance with all relevant legislation and will be client centred, providing a flexible service that empowers a person (complainant) who wishes to resolve a complaint about healthcare commissioned and/or provided by the NHS in Shropshire. IHCAS can also support a local person to resolve a complaint about health services commissioned and delivered by an NHS provider within another local area. IHCAS will need to link closely to Local Healthwatch organisations, in particular Healthwatch Shropshire. Due to the close geographical links and shared NHS services, it is also important that the IHCAS for Shropshire shares learning with the IHCAS covering the Telford and Wrekin Council area. Applicants should note that it is considered that the Employee ‘Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations’ 2006 (‘TUPE’) will apply to this contract. Applicants are advised to seek their own legal advice in this regard.