Integrated Primary Care Access Service (IPCAS)

Description

The service is to provide integrated primary care provision outside of general practice hours. This service is in response to the General Practice Forward View published in April 2016 which set out plans to enable clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to commission and fund additional capacity across England to ensure that, by 2020 everyone has improved access to GP services including routine appointments at evenings and weekends to meet locally determined demand. This The services aims to bring together the separately funded and previously separately commissioned out of hours service and GP extended access; with a view to reducing duplication of activity. Access to GP and a wider workforce for consultation from 6.30pm on weekdays and at weekends based on local demand is made available through this contract. This consists of face to face consultations from agreed hubs, home visits and other virtual methods. Telephone consulting prior to the need for face to face or home visiting services will be conducted through the Integrated Urgent Care (IUC) contract and not this contract. Lot 1: This PCR Regulation 32 Contract Award notice is being published to notify the award of the contract for 12 months with an option to extend for a further 6 month period from 1st April 2021 to Southern Hampshire Primary Care Alliance. The following letter published by NHSE: Letter template (england.nhs.uk) outlines that the responsibility for the delivery of extended access service will not be going to PCNs from April 2021 as expected, and that this will be delayed for a further year. This is in response to the additional pressure GP practices are currently experiencing in delivering the COVID vaccination programme. The CCG is therefore required to ensure a service runs until 31st March 2022. The option of going out to procurement on this contract is ruled on account of the timeframes. A procurement process would take 6 months, and mobilisation a further 3 to 6 months which would take near to the end of the contractual term. The CCG will therefore be extending the existing service for a further year and will be publishing a contract award notice to this effect in order to update the market. Throughout the next year further work will be undertaken with PCNs to establish what the plan will be from April 2022. Engagement with patients and reviewing the service that has been in place will form a large part of ensuring that future provision is fit for purpose. At this point it remains unknown what the PCN contract detail will look like. For example financial details and specific requirements in terms of operating hours and locations has not be published. This is expected sometime in Autumn 2021 when more plans can be made. The value of the award is £6,693,000 (12 + 6 months) Additional information: For further information about this award please visit the procurement portal: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/soepscommissioning/aspx/Home This notice expires midnight 9th April 2021.