Cervical Screening Digital Solution User Assessment

Tender description

Summary of the work To perform an assessment of those that work in the Cervical Screening pathway to determine if the digital solution will, and not limited to, improve efficiencies of tasks, reduce and/or remove risks and improve cost effectiveness of tasks. Expected Contract Length 3 months Latest start date Monday 5 December 2022 Budget Range Between £15,000 and £30,000 Why the Work is Being Done The Cervical Screening Programme aims to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer by routinely screening all eligible women, leading to identification and treatment of conditions that might otherwise develop into cervical cancer. A national procurement exercise was undertaken to change the cervical screening programme pathway, by bringing in primary Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and secondary cytology; and for it to be delivered by a single lab for London. The time frame for the procurement and the complex local IT systems, meant that the IT issues and the associated risks were not fully managed. This resulted in manual, paper based processes between the new lab and Colposcopy and Trusts/SHC. HSL became the new lab for London in December 2019. A technical solution was being sought for the following: • Trusts/SHC where a cervical sample are taken, being able to send an electronic order, for an HPV test, to HSL • Sending of electronic result from HSL back to the ordering Trusts/SCH • Accurate sample tracking from the Trusts/SCH to HSL A user assessment is required to support the business case. The user assessment will determine the impact of the digital solution on those that will interact directly, or indirectly with it. Problem to Be Solved The objective of the digital solution will be to have a standardise process for cervical screening test orders and results, improved sample tracking and failsafe. • Standardised messaging format o Allow integration of systems to be easier when dealing with standardised message format. Successful reading and interpretation of messages • Agreed Test Orders and Results process o Be less resource intensive o Remove burdensome manual processes o Reduce the probability of human error o Orders and Results reach their destination accurately • Sample tracking and failsafe o Improving the quality of sample tracking process through the use of Manifest which will add extra checks and balances o Use barcodes to speed up the sample identification o Reduction in missing samples and a quicker identification of missing samples o Avoidable repeat testing o Reducing screening safety incidents due to missing samples o Increasing failsafe and their effectiveness The purpose of the user assessment is to validate the objectives of the digital solution business case in terms of those that will be impacted by it. Who Are the Users HSL: As a lab receptionist I need check the content of the sample package against the manifest so that I can confirm the receipt and any errors back to the ordering Trust As a Medical Laboratory Assistant/Biomedical Scientist and consultant I need to be able test samples so that when, completed, I can update the patients record and have assurance the results will get back to the ordering Trusts and the patient’s record. Colposcopy Units, Histology, Gynaecology and SCHs within Trusts: As a clinician I need to ensure that I am able to place an order for a test on the sample I have taken so that the sample will get tested at the laboratory and the correct patient details are recorded. As a Clinician/Failsafe administrator, I need to be able to see the results in the patients record, results within the Electronic Patient Record inboxes, and sample status updates; so that I able to affect patient management. As Nursing staff/Clinician, I need to pack samples and generate manifests so that I can be assured that samples reach HSL and that their content can be checked and confirmation of receipt is obtained. Any errors found can be quickly mitigated. Work Already Done The Working Group (WG) was setup to investigating what technologies were available and what could be developed to solve the problem of replacing the current manual processes with an automated one. Based on a set of requirements, costs, benefits and risks; a specification and an options paper was produced. Due to the projected cost, a solution had to be procured from the market. A Reference Group was established to put the business case together and go out to market. The business case requires a user assessment to determine the validity of a digital solution, based on its impact on users. Existing Team The supplier will be working with the: • Cervical Screening Reference Group (which include NHS Commissioners and Digital Transformation Leads) - project management and development • The Cervical Screening Steering Group (includes Chief Information Officers from ICBs) - decision making and oversight of the procurement and implementation • HSL IT department and clinicians - implementation and testing • The 22 Trust/SHC IT departments and clinicians from the Colposcopy, Histology, Gynaecology and sexual health centres - implementation and testing Current Phase Discovery Skills & Experience • Must be able to delivery against the requirements • Must be able to demonstrate they have the resources to deliver the user assessments in the timeframe set • Must have experience of designing user assessments for users with variable digital literacy • Must have experience of providing cost benefit analysis Work Location The location of the development phase is unknown, it depends on the successful supplier. Implementation and testing will take place, in London, at: • HSL • SHCs • Trusts: o Barts Health o Barking, Havering and Redbridge o Royal Free London o St George's o London North West University o Chelsea and Westminster Hospital o Croydon Health Service o The Hillingdon Hospitals o Imperial College o King's College Hospital o Lewisham and Greenwich o Kingston Hospital o Guy's and St Thomas' o Whittington Health o Homerton University Hospital o University College London Hospitals o Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals Working Arrangments The supplier will nominate a project manager and any other support team members. The PM will be responsible for maintaining a project plan and reporting on the progress of tasks against approved timescales. The PM will maintain a risk register. The PM will escalate any issues that require urgent attention. The PM will report: a. On a weekly basis to a Project Oversight Group, on progress, risks, and escalations, etc. b. To the Cervical Screening Digital Solution Reference Group on a monthly basis. Security Clearance No security clearance has been identified. Any declaration regarding conflict of interest and confidentiality would be covered by any contract between NHSE and supplier. No. of Suppliers to Evaluate 3 Proposal Criteria • Approach and methodology • Estimated timeframes for the work • Value for money Cultural Fit Criteria • Worked with the NHS • Understand NHS values and culture Payment Approach Fixed price Assessment Method • Case study • Work history • Reference • Presentation Evaluation Weighting Technical competence 60% Cultural fit 10% Price 30% Questions from Suppliers 1. Is there a current incumbent supplier? Can this be fulfilled by a singular PM? Dear Sir/Madam,There are no incumbent suppliers.We are not trying to be too prescriptive on how suppliers wish to setup their projects, we just wanted to emphasis that from a reporting perspective, we would expect a PM to have oversight of the project and be responsible to on reporting on it to a project oversight group or individual. 2. Reading the brief, we’re not clear on the requirements – are you looking for a PM to manage a project? Or, as another reading might be, looking for a Business Analysis investigation into the current AS-IS, the prospective new solution, a comparison (and resulting cost analysis), with some qualitative User Research alongside. Could you clarify? Dear Sir/Madam,We are expecting that the supplier to run their user assessment as a project. Therefore, we would expect that the supplier have their own PM. I am not subject matter expert, but our expectation would be that there would be an assessment of the manual tasks that would impacted by a digital solution. How this will be done, and the output would be part of the any bid put forward by a supplier. If I not fully answered your question, please send a further clarification question. 3. Are there additional phases of work following the assessment and what is the budget for the additional phase(s)? Dear Sir/Madam,For the user assessment alone, there are no additional phases. This user assessment will support a business case for a digital solution. 4. Have you already identified a new potential system to review in the context of existing staff workflows? Dear Sir/Madam,No new potential system has been identified. The purpose of the user assessment is to support the business case to procure a potential new digital solution. 5. Are you looking to review working processes in the context of existing software systems? Dear Sir/Madam,We are looking to review working processes, but there is no existing software system. The working processes are currently manual. 6. Could you clarify what you are hoping to achieve from the cost benefit analysis mentioned in the skills requirements? What would the cost benefit analysis be based upon? Dear Sir/Madam,To determine if a digital solution will improve the efficiency of the tasks performed, one such measure of that would be the cost benefits, another is risk, etc.I am not subject matter expert, so I am only making an assumption, however, I would expect that a comparison of a task being performed now with how that task would be performed after the implementation of a potential digital solution. 7. What artifacts are available to carry at the user assessment on the proposed digital solution? e.g. future/to-be process maps or service design I don’t fully understand what you mean by artifacts in this scenario, but I will try and answer it.It would be the expectation of the suppliers, as part of their user assessments, to determine how the user’s tasks, that are currently performed, will be impacted by a digital solution, as outlined in the Requirements. The proposed solution will be not be changing the design of the service or the purposes of the tasks being performed.I hope this clarifies your query, if not, please come back to us. 8. Have the existing process steps of the end to end service (including manual tasks) already been mapped out as a reference for this user assessment? Dear Sir/Madam,This has not been mapped out. Only the users, by job description, and organisations they belong to have been identified, in the Requirements 9. For clarity will the responses be comprised on 4 x 100 word answers?Our concern is we are missing something that will allow us to put in more meaningful answers. Dear Sir/Madam,We have not explicitly stated how the responses would be comprised. We expect that suppliers should keep their responses concise and according to any guidance provided by the Digital Market. 10. If a proposed new digital solution has not been designed – even in a top-level way i.e. a concept or suggested digital approach – how might the provider be expected to conduct a cost-benefit analysis? There is nothing to compare the existing physical process with. Will a more specific proposed new digital process be developed by the time of working? Typically, a ‘digital’ approach could mean any number of different things, each with widely varied likely outcomes, benefits and savings. Dear Sir/Madam,The user assessment is to support the business case for a digital solution. It has been stated in the Requirements, what a proposed digital solution will do and why. We are not expecting the supplier to understand what the digital solution is at this stage, but to describe the methodology and approach to how they will perform the user assessment, which may include cost benefit analysis, savings etc.. The supplier should provide any evidence of how they have done previous user assessments. 11. Is there a future design that has been determined? What format is this in? i.e. what documentation will we be able to use to understand it?(rephrasing the previous question) The user assessment is to support the business case for a digital solution. It has been stated in the Requirements, what a proposed digital solution will do and why. We are not expecting the supplier to understand what the digital solution is at this stage, but to describe the methodology and approach to how they will perform the user assessment, which may include cost benefit analysis, savings etc.. The supplier should provide any evidence of how they have done previous user assessments. 12. Will suppliers be required to produce a presentation for their bids? Dear Sir/Madam,Please note that the authority has considered the procurement process and will not be utilising supplier presentations as part of the selection process. All other elements of the process will remain as stated within the tender documents.