Health and social work services

Tender description

NHS England and NHS Improvement South (South West) (NHSE/I) is seeking to recommission Dorset Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) services. NHSE/I is the lead commissioner and the Dorset Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Dorset Police, are co-Commissioners. The re-commissioning exercise aims to increase equity of access and ensure a consistent and high standard of quality care to victims of sexual assault in line with the Strategic Direction for Sexual Assault and Abuse Services (2018). The Commissioner will be contracting for the Services using the National NHS Standard Contract. Contracts will be for a term of 7 years and are planned to commence from 1 April 2021. The maximum value of the service will be GBP 3 721 000 over the 7 years. NHS England and NHS Improvement South (South West) (NHSE/I) is seeking to recommission Dorset Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) services. NHSE/I is the Lead Commissioner and the Dorset Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and Dorset Police, are co-Commissioners. The re-commissioning exercise aims to increase equity of access and ensure a consistent and high standard of quality care to victims of sexual assault in line with the Strategic Direction for Sexual Assault and Abuse Services (2018). NHS England will seek to achieve the following outcomes from the procurement exercise: • be people-oriented and focused on addressing the needs of service users; • provide consistency of available services offered to different age groups, i.e. adults and paediatrics, and equal access to services; • meet national quality and clinical standards; • provide value and effectiveness of provision; • ensure 24/7 access to crisis support and specialist clinical and forensic care/advice; • ensure the workforce has the required capabilities and competencies; • operate as part of a coherent sexual assault pathway; • ensure effective collaboration with key partners. The specification covers full details of the requirements; key elements of Dorset SARC provision will include: • adult provision; • paediatric provision, co-delivered by paediatricians at Poole Hospital Foundation Trust (PHFT); • forensic physicians (for complex cases and pre-pubertal children up to their 14th birthday); • forensic nurse examiners (for adults and post-pubertal young people aged 14 years and above); • crisis workers; • estates and facilities (in liaison with Dorset Police and the OPCC). Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) services and therapeutic provision fall outside of the scope of this contract. The Dorset SARC will be required to work closely with the paediatric department from PHFT, who are commissioned separately by NHSE/I to provide the paediatric workforce for assessment and examinations of children and young people. Non-recent/ historic child sexual abuse services will be delivered by paediatricians at PHFT, where there will be a colposcope for this purpose. Services will be delivered under the national service specification (Spec 30), coupled with the Dorset (local) specification, that are aligned with best practice, current Faculty for Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM) guidelines and current Royal Colleges’ guidance. Where standards and guidance are reviewed and updated during the life of the contract, SARC services must maintain compliance with any changes and as such the contract may be varied accordingly. The Commissioner will be contracting for the services using the National NHS Standard Contract. Contracts will be for a term of 7 years and are planned to commence from 1 April 2021. The maximum value of the service will be GBP 3 721 000 over the 7 years. This procurement is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.