Stroke Recovery Service

This notice is to inform the market that the Contracting Authorities (NHS East Sussex CCG, NHS West Sussex CCG, NHS Brighton and Hove CCG) have now awarded a 1 year contract with a 1 year contract extension option to The Stroke Association. The proposed contract will commence on 1st April 2022.

A Stroke Recovery Service is currently provided in Sussex by The Stroke Association. Each CCG has a slightly different scope of service, but each is in place to provide support by The Stroke Association to stroke survivors on discharge from hospital, assessment, review, education on life after stroke, links and sign-posting to grants, peer support and other community and voluntary organisations, and including in some places a formal six-month review post discharge.

There is a need to align current stroke recovery services with national Integrated Stroke Delivery Network (ISDN) guidance and requirements, however the establishment of the Sussex ISDN and its work has been delayed due to local and national Covid-19 response and priorities.

There is a need to ensure continuity and consistency of service across Sussex prior to the future re-commissioning. Commissioners and Sussex ISDN managers will work with providers to ensure these requirements are appropriately developed on a local basis, and the proposed extension of this contract will support this. The current provider is currently working with NHS England on ISDN guidance. By taking this direct award action an equitable service is being made available to all Sussex residents/patients

As part of this continuity of service, the West Sussex service will be extended into the North Coastal West Sussex area, and this is to be added to the current contract under the same scope, service specification, and KPIs, and will equalise the service provision in West Sussex while further work is taking place across the Sussex Health and Care Partnership and with the ISDN to ensure the service will be developed in line with national requirement as well as local patient need.

The Authority will enter into a contract with the incumbent provider to ensure continuity of services, because no response/no requests to participate have been submitted in response to the Prior Information Notice.

Additional information: Please note: NHS England and Improvement have announced that the Sussex Health and Care Partnership, which is made up of all health and care organisations across East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove, has successfully met the criteria to become an Integrated Care System (ICS). An ICS is a way of working across health and care organisations that allows them to work closer together, to take collective responsibility of the health and wellbeing of populations across large areas.

It is not anticipated that the statutory responsibility or accountability of the individual health and care organisations working as an ICS will be affected, save for the expectation that CCG organisations will be abolished and functions transferred to the ICS. As a result of these intended healthcare reforms, the Contracting Authorities, currently NHS West Sussex CCG, NHS Brighton and Hove CCG and NHS East Sussex CCG, may change during the life of the contract. Refer to South of England Procurement Services to trigger the review process. This process can be further escalated to NHS Improvement or High Court of England and Wales.