Request For Information - Direct Access To Adult Hearing Service

Request for Information - Direct Access to Adult Hearing Services North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) working for and on behalf of NHS Darlington, NHS Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield, NHS North Durham, NHS Hartlepool & Stockton-on-Tees and NHS South Tees Clinical Commissioning Groups (the CCGs), propose to engage with the wider market to inform future service model development and/or commissioning intentions for the provision of a Direct Access to Adult Hearing Services for the population of the CCG areas. The broad objectives of the service are to ensure:

• Increased choice and control for service users as to where and when their treatment is delivered - providing on-going care closer to home; • Personalised care for all service users accessing the service; • Timely access to hearing assessment and a range of support services including hearing aid fitting, follow-up and on-going aftercare; • High proportion of service users continuing to benefit from the chosen intervention, including wearing hearing aids when required if they have been provided; • Reduced communication difficulties for service users with poor hearing; • Timely referral or signposting to other local services for support and equipment, including social services and voluntary services; • Access to clear guidance and information for service users and their families about the important role of hearing in maintaining effective communication and active engagement in a range of social and work settings, including advice on the range of support available; • High levels of satisfaction from service users accessing the service; • Improved quality of life for service users, their families/carers and communication partners. Provide clinical assessment, treatment and clinical leadership within a comprehensive community service; • Enhance the management of patients within the community, and actively manage the demand for secondary care services ensuring patients have prompt access to appropriate treatment and are supported to self-manage where appropriate

Registering an Interest and Market Engagement Exercise The CCGs are seeking to obtain input and feedback from provider organisations as part of the development of potential service models for delivery of Direct Access to Adult Hearing Services. If your organisation would like to register an interest in responding to this market engagement exercise and obtain a copy of the Request for Information documentation please go to the PROACTIS portal: https://www.proactisplaza.com/SupplierPortal/?CID=NECS and navigate to NECS298 RFI - Direct Access to Adult Hearing Services. Please note that the deadline for RFI responses is 12.00 noon on 01/06/2018.

Additional information: Please note that all communications and RFI submissions will be conducted via the POACTIS portal. It is free to register on the portal, which can be accessed at any time of day. A dedicated helpdesk is available should potential providers have any queries and can be contacted on [email protected] ; or http://proactis.kayako.com/suppliernetwork/Core/Default/Index Please note that this exercise is not part of any pre-qualification process. It is intended as an awareness, communication and information gathering exercise offering an opportunity for provider organisations to help inform potential future service models and/or commissioning intentions.