Provision of Alternative Provider Medical Services at Broad Street Health Centre, Broad Street Mall, Reading to Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West Integrated Care Board

Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) has procured a 5+2-year contract for GP services to a 12,000 registered list of patients. It is expected that the contract holder will continue to build the registered list of patients. The services will be up and running by 1st July 2023.

The contract includes specific requirements in respect of the following key areas:

Clinical Governance

The successful Provider will be required to put in place robust mechanisms for clinical governance and quality assurance including appropriate leadership, meetings and arrangements for reviewing significant events, serious incidents and complaints. Services will be delivered in accordance with all national standards and guidance, including CQC requirements.

PCN involvement

The successful Provider will be expected to participate in the PCN Contract DES by joining a local PCN and working with colleagues to deliver the national service specifications and all other DES requirements. They will be expected to be an active member of their PCN, participating in all key initiatives, attending meetings and providing feedback to the wider surgery team, regularly reviewing key population health data to inform care planning and acting as appropriate to address variation in referral rates, non-elective admissions, ED attendances, utilisation of out-of-hours services and supporting PCN resilience and business continuity.

Access and Workforce

The successful Provider will be expected to be fully open throughout set hours, namely 8.00am - 6.30pm Monday - Friday and to provide enhanced access services as set out in the PCN Network DES for their registered patients ensuring that routine and same day appointments are available between 6.30pm - 8pm Monday to Friday and on Saturdays. These enhanced access arrangements should be put in place collaboratively with the PCN in consultation with the ICB's Berkshire West primary care team. The Provider will be expected to have highly trained reception staff and to manage capacity effectively to achieve an appropriate balance between routine bookable care, with majority of routine appointments being available within two weeks, for patients with ongoing needs and meeting on-the-day demand, having regard to continuity of care for patients with complex conditions.

The successful Provider will offer a full range of consultation methods and support patients to make use of online access and accredited apps and other technological solutions for self-care and triage. They will flex their capacity over the winter period to meet demand and will provide additional capacity to support system resilience if asked to do so by the ICB or PCN, ensuring that patients can access appointments in accordance with timescales specified within the contract. They will work to proactively manage home visits in such a way as to avoid unnecessary admissions and utilise local clinical pathways as appropriate.

The successful Provider will be expected to take an innovative approach to staffing, putting in place a multi-disciplinary and highly-skilled team likely to include professionals recruited by the PCN under the Additional Reimbursement Roles Scheme (ARRS), which includes community & clinical pharmacists, Social Prescribers and Physicians' Associates. Appointments should be made substantively wherever possible. The Provider will be required to demonstrate that they have robust clinical leadership and operational management arrangements in place with clearly-define accountabilities and reporting lines.

Patient Participation

The successful Provider will put in place robust mechanisms for engaging with patients, including an effective Patient Participation Group that meets on a regular basis.

Prescribing

The successful Provider will prescribe in accordance with locally-agreed protocols, working to achieve local targets and deliver the ICB's Prescribing Quality Scheme, or any other equivalent local prescribing scheme.

Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF)

It is expected that the successful Provider will deliver QOF for the benefit of its registered patients. The most recent Framework Guidance can be found at the below website:

digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information… ↗

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Inequalities

Preventing ill-health is expected to be a key focus of the successful Provider's work in the surgery. They will be expected to participate in NHS Health Checks, referrals to Physical Activity schemes established by Local Authorities and other public health programmes as well as providing all appropriate LCSs. They should work proactively to understand the health needs of the surgery population and to put in place initiatives to target preventable illnesses identified as being most relevant in the area they are working in, as well as issues common to all practices such as smoking, alcohol, obesity, exercise, dietary habits and sexual health.

The Provider should actively work to address wider determinants of health and the reasons behind these, such as but not limited to service opening times, access to transport and childcare, language and literacy, misinformation and fear.

The Provider should look to build links with Public Health and with local community organisations, thereby ensuring that patients whose health is at risk of deterioration can be signposted to appropriate sources of support, including use of Social Prescribers. This will include providing appropriate support to Carers.

The Commissioner will expect the Provider to meet all key public health targets including sexual health services.

The Provider will look to develop their service to meet the needs of homeless patients.

Integration

As an active member of a local PCN, the Provider will be expected to work in partnership with NHS and non-NHS partners and other stakeholders, including community nursing, soci…