NHS Health Check

Tender description

Summary of the work To establish whether digital products could help improve uptake and impact of the NHS Health Check programme, to assess what options may already exist, and to suggest how they could be incorporated. Expected Contract Length 24 Months (For whole project) Latest start date Monday 29 January 2018 Budget Range £36,750 (Discovery only) Why the Work is Being Done The NHS Health Check programme is designed for those who are 40-74. Those eligible are entitled to free comprehensive health checks. The aim is to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) by helping people make lifestyle changes and/or get the clinical support they need to reduce their CVD risk. Over 2 years, there is an estimated cost of £57million in avoidable conditions or complications. Uptake of this free service is very low. Results of a pilot in Southwark using SMS reminders increased uptake by 12%. Public Health England want to address this to see whether digital methods can improve service uptake/uptake. Problem to Be Solved The NHS Health Check programme is a mandatory public health function for local authorities. Uptake of the service averages around 48% of the eligible population. PHE wants to look at whether digitalising parts of the service could maximise outreach and improve people’s responsiveness to results. To do this, the NHS Health Check programme needs to understand how digital could support current weak points in the user journey, from both the provider and end user perspectives. Insights from this discovery work will allow the team to decide whether digital tools can provide a solution. Who Are the Users The users are: 1. Adults aged between 40-74 who meet the NHS Health Check programme inclusion criteria (http://www.healthcheck.nhs.uk/document.php?o=1203.) 2. Clinical providers who currently deliver the NHS Health Check programme. 3. Non-clinical providers 4. Local authorities 5. Other (to be determined during an initial stakeholder review) A Discovery phase of up to 10 weeks will include creating user stories for each of these user groups to reflect their different needs and interactions with the service. Early Market Engagement None Work Already Done A pilot in Southwark used SMS reminders to increase NHS Health Check uptake by 12%, and the borough of Bromley used a digital Heart Age Tool to increase uptake in the most deprived population groups. A broader overview of evidence on the NHS Health Check programme is available at the following link: http://www.healthcheck.nhs.uk/commissioners_and_providers/governance/expert_scientific_and_clinical_advisory_panel_escap/ Existing Team The work will be with the PHE Digital team, the NHS Health Check team, CCGs, local authorities, and the national network of stakeholders. Current Phase Not started Skills & Experience • E1) Recent and demonstrable experience in running user research projects relating to the use of digital tools in health care • E2) Recent and demonstrable experience of identifying weak points in a non-digital process and identifying solutions. • E3) Demonstrable experience of designing and/or assessing digital tools to attract and meet the needs of a diverse range of users. • E4) Recent and demonstrable experience in enhancing user journeys in health care and/or health promotion. • E5) Recent and demonstrable experience of delivering projects that have passed an assessment by GDS or a Governmental Department showing conformance to the Digital Service Standard (including Assisted Digital guidance). Nice to Haves • N1) Recent and demonstrable engagement with public sector organisations, such as central and local government, particularly relating to public health • N2) Experience of working with a group of stakeholders including healthcare experts, healthcare providers, patients and the general public. • N3) Successful delivery of a program that motivates health behaviours and can demonstrate impact. • N4) Recent and demonstrable engagement with hard to reach groups and/or users inclusion of users with limited digital skills. Work Location The work can be performed from any location, but it will be co-ordinated by staff in PHE’s London Offices. Working Arrangments Work may be carried out from multiple locations including the Supplier’s offices. Attendance at PHE Offices in London and in other locations around England will be required for meetings. Supplier staff are expected to be on-site at PHE locations sufficient to manage relationships with senior stakeholders; the exemplar project team and users; and, stakeholders and users in other organisations so that the outcomes of the project may be met. Security Clearance Not Required. Additional T&Cs None No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • P1) Capability to conduct a discovery phase project aimed at influencing health behaviour and/or increasing reach/uptake of a health service and a proposed approach to this project. (max score 10) • P2) Proposed approach to determine and demonstrate whether digital channels could incorporate PHE/local digital tools and contribute to public health outcomes of the NHS Health Check programme, (max score: 45) • P3) Proposed approach to identifying pain points in the current process that could be improved with digital interventions (max score: 15) Cultural Fit Criteria • C1) work with the project team’s stakeholders using Agile methods with a group; • C2) explore a range of digital and non-digital solutions that includes demonstrating the limits of digital interventions • C3) work within the constraints of existing services, budgets and technologies already used within the programme Payment Approach Capped time and materials Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 70% Cultural fit 10% Price 20% Questions from Suppliers 1. If the timescale for the whole project is 24 months, can you advise what the timescale for this opportunity (discovery phase) would be? 8 weeks 2. Could you please clarify whether the budget specified is inclusive or exclusive of VAT? The budget is £36,750 including VAT. 3. Is this a one-off for users, or are you wanting users to come back e.g. yearly repeats? Users return every 5 years. GP systems monitor when patients are due a repeat check. 4. You currently have an uptake of the service which averages around 48% of the eligible population. Do you have a target you want to reach? The 48% uptake refers to the total number of people attending an NHS Health Check to which they have been invited (over a 5-year period). The requirement is for all eligible people to be invited for a check i.e. 100% over 5 years. There is an aspiration for 75% of eligible people to have a check. Over the last 4.5 years about 39% of the eligible population have had a check, therefore PHE is seeking to improve this. More information can be found here: http://www.healthcheck.nhs.uk/commissioners_and_providers/data/ 5. Do you already have access to users to participate e.g databases, or do you want the chosen supplier to find users? The suppliers will not need to locate users. Local commissioners and providers of the service will have lists of registered patients. However different patient sub-groups will need different approaches to encourage them to attend an NHS Health Check or follow any recommended lifestyle changes. The supplier will need to consider how to motivate different user groups. 6. Is it in scope to look at potential digital tools for the health checks themselves? The initial Discovery will be encouraged to look at the whole user journey. However the NHS Health Check itself must be delivered in person by a qualified health professional. Remote or digital health checks are therefore not under consideration. 7. What are you already doing in terms of digital to promote the health check service? Currently promoted in different ways by each commissioner (local authority) or provider (usually the NHS). The typical route is through a paper letter to the individual's address. In some cases this includes an online link to a website. It is also promoted indirectly by the Heart Age Tool available on NHS Choices and as part of the One You campaign (https://www.nhs.uk/tools/pages/heartage.aspx) 8. When is the presentation day/s planned? TBC but likely to be the week of 15 - 19 January 2018. Presentations would only be for shortlisted suppliers.