Commissioners have announced that the interim contract for the provision of children’s community health services in Bristol and South Gloucestershire will be awarded to a local partnership.
The statement below was released by Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group on 17th November 2015.
“Following completion of the preferred bidder phase, we have announced that the interim contract for the provision of children’s community health services in Bristol and South Gloucestershire will be awarded to a partnership led by Sirona care and health CIC.
The partnership, which also includes Bristol Community Health CIC and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, was named as preferred bidder for the contract in October.
During the preferred bidder phase we tested thoroughly the provider’s ability to deliver the services and are satisfied with the outcome.
As commissioners, the clinical safety of the service is of paramount importance so we will now be working with the interim providers and North Bristol Trust to ensure a safe handover and the maintenance of high quality services for the children and young people who use them.
The interim contract, which will operate on the existing service delivery model, will run from April 2016 until March 31, 2017, when a new long-term provider will take over. Parents, children and young people will continue to receive care and support from existing staff so there should be minimal change to the services provided during the period of the interim contract.
In September we launched a three-month public consultation to inform a full procurement process to identify a long-term provider for children’s community health services to start in April 2017 and to operate under a revised model of services.
- See more at: https://www.bristolccg.nhs.uk/news/childrens-community-health-services-interim-contra/#sthash.IC5dPW5E.dpuf
Janet Rowse, chief executive of Sirona care & health CIC, said: “We are very pleased to have been awarded the contract to provide Children’s Community Health Services in Bristol and South Gloucestershire for 2016/17. Although Sirona will be the main contract holder, this really is a partnership between ourselves, Bristol Community Health CIC and Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust (AWP) which brings huge strengths in terms of our shared expertise and local knowledge.
“We are currently going through a process to make sure we have all the detail we need to finalise a contract; this is quite usual at this stage and we are confident that this should be completed by the end of the month. Over the coming weeks, we will be arranging to meet with staff and working with them to continue to build on the fantastic service they are currently providing.
“For children, young people and their families, our aim is to ensure continuity of service from 1 April<x-apple-data-detectors://6>; the staff will be transferring to our respective organisations so they will continue to provide the care and support and people will see the faces they are familiar with.”
Julia Clarke, chief executive of Bristol Community Health said: “We are looking forward to extending our person-centred support to children, young people and families in Bristol and to welcoming the staff who are currently delivering these services into our organisation. We truly understand the importance of specialist healthcare in the local community and we will do everything we can to support these services and the staff that run them. All of our team look forward to meeting the staff, learning more about the excellent work that they do, and planning together for maintaining and improving services over the coming months.”
Iain Tulley, Chief Executive of AWP Trust, said: “The importance of good physical and mental health for our children and young people cannot be underestimated, so we are delighted to be part of this vital service. We look forward to working with our partners to help improve and maintain the health of those in our communities.”