Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Buckinghamshire Council
Walton Street Offices
Aylesbury
HP20 1UA
Contact
Mrs Michelle Turner
michelle.turner@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
Telephone
+44 7816118054
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
UKJ13 - Buckinghamshire CC
Internet address(es)
Main address
https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/
Buyer's address
https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/
one.3) Communication
The procurement documents are available for unrestricted and full direct access, free of charge, at
www.supplybucksbusiness.org.uk
Additional information can be obtained from the above-mentioned address
Tenders or requests to participate must be submitted electronically via
www.supplybucksbusiness.org.uk
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Regional or local authority
one.5) Main activity
General public services
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Open list for D2A
Reference number
DN552385
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Buckinghamshire Council is working in partnership with the Clinical Commissioning Group and the wider health and social care system to sustain and continue the development of a robust Discharge to Assess (D2A) pathway through the commissioning of Home care packages and care home placements.
Discharge to Assess is a pathway which has been successful in reducing acute bed occupancy. It is designed to be a nimble process that facilitates rapid discharge from hospital of medically optimised individuals, enabling acute and community hospitals to maintains capacity and respond to pressures, whether seasonal or due to the demands of Covid-19. This pathway enables assessments of long term needs to take place in a setting that is less restrictive than hospital, ensuring longer term packages of care and support are reflective of the person’s maximum abilities. Some people may require this support for a period of up to a maximum of 6 weeks depending on the assessment.
Our philosophy in Buckinghamshire is Home First. Whilst most people will be discharged home without the need for any extra funded support, some will have care and support needs that require D2A Home care Providers. This will provide care and support at home whilst social care needs assessments, and occasionally NHS Continuing Healthcare Assessments of eligibility, are undertaken in a community setting. It is expected that Home care providers will accept D2A service users that are Covid-19 positive but have been asymptomatic for 48 hours and also those that are post 14 days isolation and Covid-19 recovered.
If discharge home is not possible due to safety or client need, a care home placement may be considered.
two.1.5) Estimated total value
Value excluding VAT: £930,000
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKJ13 - Buckinghamshire CC
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Buckinghamshire Council is working in partnership with the Clinical Commissioning Group and the wider health and social care system to sustain and continue the development of a robust Discharge to Assess (D2A) pathway through the commissioning of Home care packages and care home placements.
Discharge to Assess is a pathway which has been successful in reducing acute bed occupancy. It is designed to be a nimble process that facilitates rapid discharge from hospital of medically optimised individuals, enabling acute and community hospitals to maintains capacity and respond to pressures, whether seasonal or due to the demands of Covid-19. This pathway enables assessments of long term needs to take place in a setting that is less restrictive than hospital, ensuring longer term packages of care and support are reflective of the person’s maximum abilities. Some people may require this support for a period of up to a maximum of 6 weeks depending on the assessment.
Our philosophy in Buckinghamshire is Home First. Whilst most people will be discharged home without the need for any extra funded support, some will have care and support needs that require D2A Home care Providers. This will provide care and support at home whilst social care needs assessments, and occasionally NHS Continuing Healthcare Assessments of eligibility, are undertaken in a community setting. It is expected that Home care providers will accept D2A service users that are Covid-19 positive but have been asymptomatic for 48 hours and also those that are post 14 days isolation and Covid-19 recovered.
If discharge home is not possible due to safety or client need, a care home placement may be considered.
The duration of each service user’s placement in the D2A package of care or placement will be determined by the time taken to identify long term needs and funding arrangements. For most service users this will be within two weeks, but where CHC eligibility requires a full assessment, this may be up to six weeks. Service users are expected to move through the pathway as quickly and safely as is possible for them.
Buckinghamshire Council is seeking to establish a list of Care Providers who would be willing to accept D2A service users. Care Providers will be required to complete various pass/fail criteria to obtain access onto the list. When an individual requires a D2A placement, Care Providers will be selected from the list based on availability, the specific needs of the individual, affordability and accessibility.
At times, we may need to acquire a number of domiciliary care hours in one geographic area or a number of care home beds in one location. On these occasions a block contract may be offered to one or several Care Providers on the open list. We are seeking providers of the following:
• Domiciliary Care
• Live in Care
• Complex Domiciliary Care
• Residential Care
• Nursing Care
• Dementia Nursing Care
• Dementia Residential Care
• Care homes able to manage specific needs relating to mental health or spinal patients
The list is intended to be in place from the 21st of June
Care Providers will be expected to respond to referrals sent to them within 2 hours and pick up and start packages within 24 hours. They will also need to be flexible in response to requests to increase/decrease block provision as required to meet demand over this period. This is important given the uncertainty of demand due to potential increases and decreases in cases of the Covid-19 and ongoing pressures on the hospital trust.
We invite Care Providers who wish to provide these services to review the documentation and submit the statement document via the messaging function on the Buckinghamshire Business Portal (www.supplybucksbusiness.org.uk) The contract and specification have been attached for your information at this stage.
Once a care provider is named on the list there is no guarantee that care hours will be offered. We are particularly interested in working with Home care providers that are available to cover the following areas:
• Marsh Gibbon
• Brill
• Boarstall
• Oakley
• Worminghall
• Ickford
• Chiltern
• Long Crendon
• Dagnell
• Ibstone
• Turville
• Hambleden
• Frieth
• Rockwell End
• Amersham
• Cheddington
• Beacons Bottom
• Stokenchurch
• Leighton Buzzard
We are also particularly interested in working with care providers that specialise in complex care.
Buckinghamshire Council may request that a Spot Placement Agreement is in place prior to the provider being approached for individual spot placements. The Spot Placement Agreement will outline the terms in which the spot placements are delivered. It will include a composite hourly rate that has been negotiated and agreed by Commissioners and the care provider. It will be the expectation that these terms will be adhered to through the duration of the agreement. Any providers not currently approved by Buckinghamshire Council will have to go through an additional quality monitoring process to obtain approval before any contracts are awarded.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price is not the only award criterion and all criteria are stated only in the procurement documents
two.2.6) Estimated value
Value excluding VAT: £930,000
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Restricted procedure
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.2) Time limit for receipt of expressions of interest
Originally published as:
Date
31 December 2021
Local time
12:00pm
Changed to:
Date
31 March 2022
Local time
12:00pm
See the change notice.
four.2.4) Languages in which tenders or requests to participate may be submitted
English
Section six. Complementary information
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
High Courts of Justice
The Royal Court of Justice, The Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Country
United Kingdom