PHYSIOTHERAPY, OCCUPATIONAL, SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPY SERVICES FOR ASSESSMENT AND ADVICE

Tender description

There is an on going requirement for flexible, on demand, specific therapy assessment, advice and provision to support children and young people with SEND. This applies to occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech & language therapy. The referred children and young people in the main will not have special educational needs at a level appropriate for a referral to the NHS provider commissioned by the CCG. The ending of the joint commission with NHS Somerset for the integrated therapy service has resulted in the service provider restricting their activities to those included in the NHS service (“core service”). This leaves gaps in statutory provision where a child or young person is not eligible for service, or the provision required falls outside that specified in relation to that individual case by the NHS therapist. In the event that heath commissioned services are not able to deliver to stated provision in a statutory plan, the responsibility to provide remains with the Local Authority issuing the plan. The cohort of children and young people is relatively small. Incidence being low and uneven means that a fast and flexible response is required. Appropriate numbers of relevant and qualified staff will need to be able to respond within the required timescales and at the individualised level required. Somerset County Council are keen to engage further with the market through Soft Market Testing prior to proceeding with the formal procurement process. In order to further inform our intended process, we are asking Suppliers to complete a follow up questionnaire. The questionnaire is sent to all Suppliers who may be interested in the opportunity and is available via the Supplying the South West Portal for any other interested Suppliers to complete. We would be grateful for you to take the time to respond to all aspects of the questionnaire so that we are able to establish an approach that ensures the most appropriate procurement solution for SCC and all Suppliers within the market. Keywords: Therapy, SEND, Education, Speech and Language, Market Testing