Health services

Tender description

Community health services help people get well and stay well either in their own home or close to home. They have a number of objectives, including: — Promoting health and healthy behaviours. — Supporting people to manage long term conditions such as diabetes. — Providing treatment in a setting that avoids hospital or residential care wherever possible. Community health services are defined as those provided outside of hospitals in community settings, including in people’s homes and in community clinics. NHS Medway Clinical commissioning group ('the CCG') are redesigning adult Community health services in Medway in line with national policy and local strategic direction. The redesign is closely linked to the ‘Medway Model’ a new way of joining up local services to deliver care closer to people’s homes and involve them staying healthy. This responds to the need to manage the challenges posed by people living longer and with more complex health issues, and at a time when there are constraints on future NHS spending. This programme will be critical to the development of the local vision – redesigning and improving the way in which community services are accessed and provided locally, supporting reductions in health inequalities, improving patient experience in using the services, which in turn, will ensure that patients remain well and cared for in their place of choice (home). This will also reduce the demand for A&E and inpatient care as well as continuing to support appropriate early discharge, and improving the use of technology. The CCG is engaging directly with any interested providers as it develops this model and develops an appropriate procurement process. It is currently planned that the new contract opportunity will be advertised in Autumn 2018 and go-live 1.4.2020. To enable the necessary detailed planning and market engagement to optimise the longer term solution, the CCG has decided to award a short-term extension to the incumbent community services provider to safeguarding essential service provision.