Discharge to Assess Care Act Assessments

Southampton City Council invites potential suppliers to submit tenders for the provision of a significant number of Discharge to Assess Care Act Assessments. Since March 2020 National COVID guidance has required that patients discharging from hospital who require ongoing care should receive any assessment of need in a community setting, either their own home or an alternative environment such as a nursing or care home. The expectation that ongoing assessment of need is undertaken in the community is termed "Discharge to Assess" (D2A) and has been the default hospital discharge approach. This procurement is for a contract to undertake 150 Care Act Assessments over a 4-month period. Each "care act assessment" will be in respect to new packages of care/placements and may include the undertaking of mental capacity assessments as required. The overarching aim of the service will be to:  • Provide Care Act assessment and support planning services to a predefined number of service users as set out in chapter 6 of the Care Act Guidance  • Provide Care Act reviews of support plans to a predefined number of service users as set out in chapter 13 of the Care Act Guidance  The individuals being assessed will be adults aged over 18 discharging from hospital who require an assessment of need. The provider will carry out person-centred, strengths-based assessments and reviews, along with associated support planning, in accordance with Care Act 2014 principles and in line with Southampton City Council policies, which will be shared with the provider during service mobilisation. The financial envelope for this procurement is up to £80,000 for the 4-month period covered by the initial contract term, during which time the provider will be required to undertake 150 Care Act Assessments. In the event that additional Care Act Assessments are required, and if future funding is available, the Council reserves the option to extend the contract term by up to two extension periods - each of two months - which would extend the financial envelope by up to a further £80,000 in total, (i.e., up to £40,000 for each period of extension) - such that the maximum value of the contract is potentially £160,000. Please see Document 3 Service Specification for more service-related information. Due to the urgency for the service provision, this procurement will follow an accelerated Open type procedure and will be conducted in compliance with The Public Contracts Regulations 74-77, 2015, under the Light Touch Regime. It is essential that the service provider is able to mobilise service delivery to enable a contract start date of 18th July 2022.