Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group - Referral Facilitation Service

NHS Hounslow Clinical Commissioning Group (Hounslow CCG) seeks expressions of interest from suitably experienced and qualified service providers who would like to be considered for the re-provision of the Hounslow Referral Facilitation Service (RFS) contract.

The existing service supports the effective clinical triage of all referrals to hospital (including but not limited to referrals from GPs, nurses and allied healthcare professionals) to community services in line with agreed care pathways and to include consultant-to-consultant/ internally generated referrals, to ensure the appropriate use of community and secondary care services.

Since 2011 the Hounslow RFS has provided a central hub through which referrals pass, supporting patient flows and care pathways within the local health economy. In 2014 the service facilitated 130,000 referrals from primary care of which approximately 30,000 referrals were clinically triaged. Additionally, in 2014 the Hounslow RFS introduced a process to enable local Secondary Care Consultants to deliver clinical triage and provide clinical feedback to their Primary Care colleagues.

The annual referral activity processed by the RFS in Hounslow is expected to grow to approximately 162,000 by 2019, of which approximately 49,000 are expected to be clinically reviewed by the RFS in accordance with local care pathway guidelines.

It is envisaged that TUPE will apply to this contract. Bidders will be expected to obtain their own independent legal advice in relation to the application of TUPE. Providers are invited to submit proposals on premise arrangements for the service; the CCG will be unable to provide support in sourcing premises.

The term of this contract will be 3 years with the option to extend for a further 24 months. This contract will be awarded in line with the NHS Standard Terms and Conditions.

The contract value for the three year term has an upper and lower threshold of £3,300,000 and £2,530,000 respectively. The maximum value of this contract, if the optional 2 additional years is taken up would be £5,500,000.

Expressions of interest from consortia or partnerships are welcomed, on condition that a lead member with overall responsibility for coordinating the tender and entering the contract is identified.

A supplier event will be held on 27th July 2015. Details of the event will be sent to potential bidders that register interest with the CCG. Providers are requested to register their interest at [email protected].

The deadline for registering interest will be 1700 Hours Thursday 27th August 2015. Hounslow CCG reserves the right to refuse expressions of interest received after this time and date.

The deadline for submission of completed PQQ and ITT documents will be 1200 hours Thursday 3rd September. Hounslow CCG reserves the right to refuse submissions received after this time and date.

Additional information: NHS Hounslow CCG is made up of 54 GP member practices that in 2015 services an estimated registered patient population of 301,394. Each of the practices in Hounslow CCG is allocated to one of five localities decided by their geographical location within the borough. The 5 localities in Hounslow cover the following areas; Brentford & Isleworth (B&I), Chiswick, Feltham, Great West Road (GWR) & Heart of Hounslow.

The key functions of the RFS will be: • Accept and triage all referrals for onward care within the health economy, including (but is not limited to) referrals from GPs, allied healthcare professionals, dentists and consultant-to-consultant/ internally generated referrals, to facilitate the appropriate use of community and secondary care services • Provide a “single point of access” and “gateway” for referral support to stakeholders including, Patients, GPs, Secondary Care Consultants and other relevant health service providers, including enquires on appointment booking (via NHS E-referrals) and other related queries • Undertake clinical triage of commissioner specified referrals made by GPs, Consultants and Community services. Providing direct educative feedback to the referring clinician on their referrals • Provide a local GP and Consultant resource to enable clinical triage to be undertaken by the appropriately qualified professional • Be responsive to patients, ensuring that booking support is provided to patients that require specific assistance. Offering choice to patients when preference has not been indicated on the referral. Booking local transport for patients that cannot travel to their appointment due to a health condition • Monitor referrals to enable identification of practices that do not meet Hounslow CCG agreed standards/guidelines • Record and track referrals through all care pathways • Provide point of contact and advice, to support local urgent care centres, to appropriately transfer unscheduled care patients into a planned care setting • Collate and disseminate relevant referral and service information to all practices/ localities/ establishments including making information accessible via the Hounslow CCG Extranet web portal and other regular agreed mediums e.g. newsletters, CCG events • Direct patient enquiries about access to services, both health and non-health, to appropriate agencies and in-line with local processes for managing urgent care

Minimum requirements for financial standing and competency will be set out in the Pre-Qualification questionnaire. Providers submitting a response to this questionnaire that do not satisfy these minimum requirements may be excluded from further participation in this procurement.

Any expenditure, work or effort undertaken prior to contract award is accordingly a matter solely for the commercial judgment of potential service providers.Hounslow CCG and/or its advisors shall not be liable for such costs or loss of expenses incurred responding to this notice.