Termination of Pregnancy Service NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB

Tender description

NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB sought expressions of interest for the provision of a Termination of Pregnancy Service.<br/><br/>The aim of this service was to ensure that all women and people who are pregnant in Norfolk and Waveney have access to evidence-based, quality abortion advice and care in line with existing national guidance.<br/><br/>Core aims:<br/><br/>• To improving access<br/>• To minimising waiting times with no unnecessary delay<br/>• To give choice of procedure & location<br/>• To ensuring privacy and convenience<br/>• To reducing stigma<br/>• To following evidence-based pathways that deliver safe and effective care<br/><br/>Patients can expect that:<br/><br/>All providers must be registered by the relevant independent healthcare regulators (CQC in England, HIW in Wales) and are accountable to them for delivery of care to Fundamental Standards (CQC) and Health and Care Standards (HIW).<br/>Providers must ensure patients can receive the full range of services and must not “cherry-pick” cases so as to undermine local services. Where a provider does not provide a particular service within an ICS / Health Board area, the patient must be informed that they may need to travel to access this type of care and about all the alternative choices available locally.<br/>Providers should act collaboratively to ensure care pathways are seamless, and always put the patient’s interests first by directing them to services that best fit their needs.<br/><br/>The proposed contract is for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for an additional 2 years. The anticipated contract value is circa £1,800,000 per annum.<br/><br/>To apply for this opportunity provider were asked to register via the Atamis e-sourcing portal https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome. Project<br/>C298776 Lot 1: This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.<br/><br/>This service was tendered for a Provider to offer a full range of abortion services, either themselves or in collaboration with other providers.<br/><br/>The pathway will include provision of:<br/><br/>• Direct access to the service via self-referral, without need for medical referral. Patients should not have any restrictions in their choice of provider and can opt for a service that is not the most local (e.g. to access lower waiting times, choice owing to a past good or poor experience, to receive care in a different location.<br/><br/>• Assessment by phone or video call or face-to-face according to preference, and treatment in a range of settings including in the community and through no-test telemedicine abortion where appropriate. If patients prefer a face-to face assessment, this should be available locally.<br/><br/>• Medical or surgical abortion up to 24 weeks’ gestation.<br/><br/>• For early medical abortion, to have the option of expulsion at home.<br/><br/>• Surgical abortion available at all gestations up to 24 weeks, with availability of local anaesthesia and conscious sedation.<br/><br/>• These choices should be available to all patient groups, including young people (i.e. under 18 and those aged under 25 in local authority care).<br/><br/>• Not all choices will be available at all locations, and travel may be necessary to access more complex care options (e.g. later gestation, general anaesthesia)<br/><br/>• Assessment within 1 week of the request<br/><br/>• Provide the abortion within 1 week of the assessment for women who decide to go ahead with an abortion.<br/><br/>• Gynaecology care, with more complex care (e.g. later gestations or co-morbidities) will be delivered by regional or, in the most complex cases, national centres.<br/><br/>This is an existing service and the proposed award is to the existing provider, having undertaken a Competitive process, in line with PSR requirements.<br/><br/>The proposed contract is for a period of 3 years with the option to extend for an additional 2 years. <br/><br/>The anticipated annual contract value is circa £1,800.000 per annum