Primary Care Extended Access for NHS Thurrock CCG

Tender description

Extended Access for Thurrock CCG patients. • Timing of appointments: Commission weekday provision of access to pre-bookable and same day appointments to general practice services in evenings (after 6:30pm) - to provide an additional 1.5 hours a day; Commission weekend provision of access to pre-bookable and same day appointments on both Saturdays and Sundays to meet local population needs; Provide robust evidence, based on utilisation rates, for the proposed disposition of services throughout the week; Appointments can be provided on a hub basis with practices working at scale. • Capacity: Commission a minimum additional 30 minutes consultation capacity per 1000 population, rising to 45 minutes per 1000 population. • Measurement: Ensure usage of a nationally commissioned new tool to automatically measure appointment activity by all participating practices, both in-hours and in extended hours. • Advertising and ease of access: Ensure services are advertised to patients, including notification on practice websites, notices in local urgent care services and publicity that into the community, so that it is clear to patients how they can access these appointments and associated service; All practice receptionists able to direct patients to the service and offer appointments to extended hours service on the same basis as appointments to non-extended hours services Patients should be offered a choice of evening or weekend appointments on an equal footing to core hours appointments. • Digital: Use of digital approaches to support new models of care in general practice. • Inequalities: Issues of inequalities in patients' experience of accessing general practice identified by local evidence and actions to resolve in place. • Leadership & Governance Ensure leadership and governance arrangements in place The CCG has carried out a due diligence process on Neera Medical Centre and believes that they are best placed to provide these services as they already hold a seven year contract with NHS England to deliver these services. They have also invested in capital and workforce that would enable them to expand their existing services. If any other organisation would like to express an interest by 5pm Monday 4th December 2017 if they believe that they are capable of delivering the above requirements then the CCG will run a competitive process.