Palliative Care Fast Track End of Life Domiciliary Care Service

***DEADLINE EXTENDED TO 20/11/20*** The NHS Sussex Commissioners comprising NHS West Sussex CCG, NHS East Sussex CCG and NHS Brighton and Hove CCG are considering commissioning a Palliative Care Fast Track End of Life Domiciliary Care Service, under a single provider contract.

A Pilot service has been running since 01 September 2018 covering specific GP surgery boundaries within West Sussex. The pilot was set up to provide enhanced Domiciliary Care for Fast Track CHC funded patients by End of Life care providers. This was not to provide nursing care which is provided by Community nurses, GP surgeries and, in some cases, Hospice nurses. Outside of the pilot areas all Domiciliary Care packages of care are put out to agencies to cover the prescribed levels of care required as per the originator of the Fast Track application. Within the pilot areas the providers met with the individual/family to discuss what was available and what was required taking into account full personalisation of care for the individual. Where a package of care needs increasing, agencies currently contact Continuing Healthcare (CHC) to agree this. Under the pilot, autonomy has been given to the providers to increase/decrease the amount of care provision as required without the need for authorisation from CHC. A virtual market engagement event will be held on Tuesday 24th November 2020, for further details and to book your place please access the RFI documents at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/soepscommissioning/aspx/Home. It is anticipated that the service would be offered for tender under a standard NHS contract for a period of 3 years commencing on the 1st April 2022 with the option to extend for a maximum of a further two years.

The approximate anticipated contract value is £3Million per annum in total for East Sussex, West Sussex and Brighton and Hove. The total anticipated value of the full potential 5 year contract (3+2) is therefore approximately £15Million. Provisional Contract start date = 01 April 2022 Provisional Contract end date = 31 March 2025 (plus additional extension of up to 2 years) Closing date for RFI responses: 12pm midday on 20 Nov 2020

The purpose of this RFI is to gauge market interest and feedback via the RFI response form for the provision of Palliative Care Fast Track End of Life Domiciliary Care Services and provide the CCGs with valuable information to help update and improve the current service specification.

If you would like to discuss any aspects of the requirements, please send a portal message suggesting a date/time for a telephone conversation. Please return your completed questionnaire to: https://intendhost.co.uk/soepscommissioning/aspx/Home by 12pm Friday 20 November 2020

Additional information: Key Aims and Objectives To provide a responsive, high quality and patient focused domiciliary care service for eligible individuals. This clinically-led service will provide personal, social, practical and emotional support for patients at the end of life who have been assessed as being eligible for NHS CHC Fast Track funding.

The benefits realised from the pilot are: • Personalised approach for every patient ensuring quality care is provided, meeting their identified needs and continues to respond as these needs vary throughout the duration of their period of eligibility. • Positive relations forged with the patient and/or their family as a result of early and face to face interaction. • Pilot providers have developed greater working relationships with local hospitals. • The quality of care is improved as, through experience, the pilot providers have a greater understanding of the trajectory of the disease and are able to ensure the Package of Care mirrors this. • The level of care is consistent and equitable to all patients • Time to put Package of Care in place is quicker than via the Care and Support at Home Framework and other Dom Care Agencies, meaning patients are discharged home sooner and commence their journey with the pilot providers earlier. • Friends and Family questionnaire are sent to every patient/family to provide quality feedback on the service. This enables the pilot providers to ensure the best care is being delivered and also provides assurance to CHC on the patient/family experience.

A further added benefit of the pilot has been continuity of care for those who go on to have greater needs, holistic care planning methodologies as well as access to specialist clinicians for support and advice. Additionally, as the service is not prescriptive, more patients have been able to be cared for in a time effective manner, due to care being personalised and responsive to the individual's changing needs.

This is a process designed to help the Commissioners form a view of the best way to commission the Service and is not the beginning of a tender exercise. A further tender advertisement will be issued at the appropriate time as/if required. You will not be disadvantaged in any subsequent tender process if you choose not to respond to this RFI but the Commissioners will use the level of response received as part of the supporting evidence for any next steps taken. The Commissioners wish to understand your views at this early stage, so you are encouraged to respond and complete the RFI form as fully as you can.