'Hospice at Home' End of Life Services Provision in Hertfordshire and West Essex

This contract award notice follows the publication of a Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT) published on 15th March 2023 which was intended to provide notice of the Contracting Authority's intention to award a contract for 'Hospice at Home' End of Life services to its incumbent provider, Isabel Hospice, to continue to provide services within the Hertfordshire area. The reference number for the VEAT is 2023/S 000-007492.

This notice is intended to provide confirmation of conclusion of the contract award for the services set out within the published VEAT Notice.

E&N Hertfordshire Palliative and End of Life Care services are delivered through an integrated model that works across primary and secondary care. Service users are expected to move between different elements of the service as their needs change.

The service will provide holistic palliative and end of life care which will include crisis and planned response, specialist holistic assessment, symptom control, emotional support and practical "hands on" nursing and social care which includes respite for carer's based upon priorities.

The Hospice at Home service is one element working in partnership with colleagues and other organisations to ensure that wherever possible the services on offer meet the needs of service users effectively and flexibly and represent effective and efficient use of available resources. All service users will be cared for on an integrated End of Life Care pathway which includes Advance Care Planning, Preferred Priorities of Care.

The new contract is for a period of 12 months with the option to extend for a further 12 months from 1st April 2023 to 31st March 2024, option to extend from 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025.

The contract has been in place since 2013, total cumulative value of this service since it began is £10,866,928.00 (not including the value of this contract). The value of this contract for 1-year is £2,088,399, increasing to £4,176,798 if extended for a further 12 months. The figure reflected in this notice is the total contract value including the extension option.

This value has increased slightly from the value published within the VEAT which was £2,006,190 for 1-year, increasing to £4,012,380 including the option. However, this is not of material difference and the scope of services continues to be as described.

The HWE ICB became a legal entity on 1st July 2022, replacing the previous Hertfordshire and West Essex CCGs. The organisation is in its early stages and is forming its commissioning and procurement strategies. It is the intention of the HWE ICB to undertake a full commissioning review of its hospice services across the area. To procure services at this stage would risk destabilisation and misalignment to the wider strategy. This short-term contract will allow the HWE ICB time to ensure that a robust strategic review is undertaken.

The closing date within this Notice is the date on which the waiver was approved.