Expressions of Interest for the delivering a Derbyshire wide, Community Paediatric Continence Service Level 2 for children and young people aged 0 -18 years

NHS Arden & Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (NHS Arden & GEM CSU) on behalf of the Derbyshire CCGs including NHS North Derbyshire CCG (who is acting as lead Commissioner for this process), NHS Hardwick CCG, NHS Erewash CCG and NHS Southern Derbyshire CCG are inviting Expressions of Interest from suitably qualified providers capable of delivering a Derbyshire wide, Community Paediatric Continence Service Level 2 for children and young people aged 0 -18 years (or 19 when attending a special school) who are registered with member GP Practices of NHS North Derbyshire, Hardwick, Erewash and Southern Derbyshire CCGs for which they are the responsible commissioner.

The generic term "continence" is interchangeable with the terms "bladder and bowel difficulties", "bladder and bowel dysfunction" or "wetting and soiling problems".

Continence problems are believed to be caused by biological, developmental, genetic and environmental factors. Structural or anatomic causes are rare. They occur at a formative time for children and influence their health, their wellbeing, and their emotional development. There is evidence that they are associated with emotional and behavioural problems, including a strong association with bullying, both as recipients and perpetrators (NICE Clinical Guideline CG99, 2010: 5; CG111, 2010: 4). They can also reduce self-esteem at a crucial time for a child or young person's emotional development and risk their exclusion from normal social interaction.

Continence problems are treatable and it is therefore important that Children and Young People are diagnosed and managed early. Continence problems are more prevalent among children and young people with learning and physical disabilities, who have a higher risk of underlying pathology and may take longer to achieve continence. There is also a higher prevalence of continence problems among children and young people in local authority care.

The indicative benchmark for a paediatric continence service is 0.8% or 800 per 100,000 population aged 19 years and under. This equates to 1,889 children and young people across the Derbyshire footprint, of which approximately 50% may progress into a Level 2 service.

This service is designed to meet the needs of Children and Young People to achieve complete continence, or to manage the condition discreetly and effectively if full control is not clinically possible. This will be achieved through;

• Clinical assessment of continence need of each child, • Clinical oversight of suitable continence products • Facilitation of obtaining products from current supplier and distribution to patients

Additional information: Please note that this expression of interest has been designed to allow the market visibility of the proposed opportunity and support early engagement and networking between providers looking to sub-contract or form partnerships with other providers. Neighbouring CCG's to Derbyshire are being consulted in terms of seeking levels of interest to participate in any future processes following the outcome of this market testing exercise. A Market engagement event is being considered by Commissioners to take place week commencing 23rd July 18. If you wish to attend any future events regarding this service, please ensure you complete the PQQ questionnaire.

The aim of the expression of interest exercise is to;

1. Support the CCGs informed decision making on the potential options on the future commissioning of these services;

2. To help refine the commissioning and procurement approach and;

3. To gauge the level of interest from the market of capable providers with capacity across Derbyshire to deliver the services illustrated above.

This is a market testing exercise and does not commit the CCG to carry out a procurement process. Current services will remain in place during this period in line with existing contracts and service level agreements.

Bidders who have expressed an interest in this market testing exercise will have the opportunity to submit a separate response to the Contract Notice as applicable.

If you wish to express an interest please register on the Bravo Portal https://ardengemcsu.bravosolution.co.uk. The PQQ reference is PQQ_506.

Once registered please complete the questions in the qualification envelope which asks providers to give details about your organisation's name and postal address, email address, contact name and number. Your response should also include capability and previous experience of delivering this or a similar level of service.

Please note the deadline for responses is by 12pm (noon) on 13th July 2018.