Report of Director of Public Health

Councillor Williams, Portfolio Holder for Adults and Health, and Uzmah Bhatti, Senior Public Health Insight Manager, presented the report, which detailed Nottingham City Council’s statutory responsibility to provide, or secure the provision of, under the provisions of the Health and Social Care Act (2012), open access sexual health services in its area, including:

·  preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs);

·  treating, testing and caring for people with STIs and their partners;

·  contraceptive services including advice on preventing unintended pregnancy and sexual health promotion.

They stated that the current Locally Commissioned Public Health Services (LCPHS) contracts, usually awarded to GPs and community pharmacy providers based on an accreditation type procurement process, were due to expire in March 2022, with no option to extend. In light of this, and due to the administration based complexities in establishing these multiple contracts with individual GP practices and pharmacy providers, it was deemed to be more efficient and better for continuity in services for citizens to adopt a cycle of 9-year flexible contracts (3+3+3 years) where NCC would retain a contract severance clause. The current contract allows for new providers to apply through an open accreditation process, and it is anticipated that this arrangement will be replicated in the new contract in order to ensure that this reflects the changing ownership and staffing seen within community pharmacies.

In response to a question regarding the current difficulty in accessing GP services, and how provision will be monitored under any new contract, Ms Bhatti stated that, as services are invoiced / paid for after provision, use of individual GPs / pharmacies can easily be monitored and providers assessed where necessary.

In response to a question as to whether the Voluntary Sector would be able to apply to be part of the scheme, Ms Bhatti stated that this was not permitted under the funding criteria as it had to be an established GP or pharmacy.

Resolved

(1)  to approve:

(a)  the expenditure of £2,933.505 of Public Health Grant monies over 9 years (£325,945 per year) for the procurement of locally based GP and pharmacy sexual health services, on an initial 3-year contract, with an option to extend for two further 3-year periods at the sole discretion of Nottingham City Council;

(b)  an open accreditation process for the selection of providers to deliver GP and pharmacy based sexual health services;

(2)  to delegate authority to the Director of Public Health to approve the outcomes of the accreditation process and award the contracts to the successful applicants.

Reasons for recommendations

1.  The current contracts for LCPHS sexual health services in the community are due to expire in March 2022 with no option to extend, therefore a new arrangement needs to be implemented by 1April 2022.

2.  The award of further nine-year contacts (in three year intervals) will enable ongoing opportunistic provision of sexual health services in the community for citizens at high risk of poor sexual health outcomes and those who face barriers in accessing sexual health clinics.

3.  Nottingham City Council (NCC) has a statutory responsibility to provide, or secure the provision of, open access sexual health services in its area.

Other options considered

1.  To not recommission LCPHS sexual health services - Not recommended as this will leave a significant gap in provision and reduce access for those at high risk of poor sexual health outcomes.

2.  To award shorter term contracts – Not recommended as this will create uncertainty for providers and resources required to constantly recommission these services is counterproductive for provider and commissioners.