Agenda item

Report CS15925

Report CS15925 outlined the Public Health commissioning intentions for 2016/17 subject to decisions on corporate savings. The Public Health contracts comprised:

·   Contract Type A: Standard Contracts;

·   Contract Type B: Bromley CCG Community Block Contract with Bromley Healthcare;

·   Contract Type C: Sexual Health Clinical Contracts with acute hospital providers; and

·   Contract Type D: Service Level Agreements with General Practitioners

The framework approach provided flexibility to commissioners particularly in responding to corporate saving decisions. There was no commitment to call off services from appointed providers, all initial framework contracts being awarded for a one year term. The Framework expired at the end of April 2016 with an option to extend for a further two years, this option being recommended.

For category A, substance misuse contracts at £1.6m accounted for much of the proposed 2016/17 contract spend; a further 21 contracts valued at £502k had been called off from the Council’s Public Health Framework (annual value estimated at £800k) in 2015/16.

The category B Community block included the following services managed by the Director of Public Health through a Section 75 agreement with Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG): 

·  Contraception and Reproductive Health

·  Health Improvement

·  Smoking Cessation

·  School Nursing

·  The National Childhood Measurement Programme

·  Child Healthy Weight Programmes

·  Health Visiting (from October 2015)

The community block contract had been extended by the CCG with Bromley Healthcare to 31st March 2017 and, subject to corporate savings decisions, it was intended to continue the arrangement until then. A joint procurement exercise with the CCG could potentially be taken forward during 2016/17 for the relevant community services.

A recurrent value of the services would amount to £6.8m per annum reflecting the inclusion of Health Visiting under the Public Health remit from October 2015 (the annual value of Health Visiting being £3.8m).

For category C Sexual Health Clinical Contracts it was necessary by regulation to provide open access Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) sexual health services and a collaborative commissioning approach with other London Boroughs had resulted in a reduced 2015/16 GUM Tariff and more advantageous terms.

For category D Service Level Agreements with General Practitioners to support the delivery of Sexual Health Services, Substance Misuse Services and NHS Health Checks, all 45 registered GP Practices in the Borough had agreed to deliver one or more elements of the services during 2015/16. The total value of GP SLAs for 2016/17 was estimated at £539,350.

A proposed exemption from the Council’s contract procedure rules would support a continuation of the programmes and enable a new round of SLAs to be established with GP Practices for 2016/17. The substance misuse SLA would however be ceased as the services had been incorporated into a wider substance misuse contract.

Extending the overall Public Health framework for a further two years would not commit L B Bromley to a particular level of expenditure - officers would retain manoeuvrability to adjust expenditure should the need occur. 

Members supported the recommendations.

Subject to corporate savings decisions it was RESOLVED that:

(1)  extension of the Public Health Framework for two years until

31st March 2018 be approved;

(2)  the intention to continue using the commissioning arrangements with Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) through section 75 for provision of community services by Bromley Healthcare be noted;

(3)  following agreement by the Executive in November 2014, the Public Health lead for sexual health had pursued a cross-London solution for the commissioning of Genito-Urinary Medicine (GUM) services;

(4)  the exemption of acute GUM contracts from tendering in line with CPR 13 be approved; and

(5)  the continued use of Service Level Agreements for services offered by General Practitioners for 2016/17 be approved by granting an exemption as per sections 3 and 13 of the contract procedure rules.