A vanguard site in east London has announced a £33 million a year procurement for community health services from a GP-led group.
NHS Tower Hamlets CCG has selected the Tower Hamlets GP Care Group Community Interest Company to offer joined up community health services. The contract is for an initial five years with an option to extend for a further two.
It will be paid on the delivery of results for patients and the community’s wellbeing.
A vanguard site in east London has announced a £33 million a year procurement for community health services from a GP-led group.
NHS Tower Hamlets CCG has selected the Tower Hamlets GP Care Group Community Interest Company to offer joined up community health services. The contract is for an initial five years with an option to extend for a further two.
It will be paid on the delivery of results for patients and the community’s wellbeing.
The successful bidder is the lead provider for the Tower Hamlets Integrated Provider Partnership (THIPP) which also includes Barts Health NHS Trust, East London NHS Foundation Trust and Tower Hamlets council.
Jane Milligan, the chief officer at Tower Hamlets CCG said residents had told them they wanted to see improvements to community health services.
She said: ‘This procurement has be carried out using an outcome-based approach, which means the GP Care Group will be paid for delivering results that benefit individual patients, the wellbeing of the Tower Hamlets population and the local health system.
“This is a best practice method of commissioning that will help to reduce red tape and result in services that really work.”
The CCG spent two years working with Tower Hamlets Healthwatch, voluntary organisations, patients, independent clinicians and potential providers to design the services.
Dr Phil Bennett-Richards, the chairman of the Tower Hamlets GP Care Group which is made up of 37 practices said it had plans for some new developments.
“We will be introducing a single point of access for all community health services so we can maximise the potential for care across services to be organised more coherently.”
He said the move would ensure people got the right care at the right time, with one assessment. This should save them from having to repeat information and tests every time they saw healthcare professionals such as the GP, occupational therapist or chiropodist.
“Over the coming years the services will be continually developed in partnership with the Tower Hamlets community,” he added.
A stakeholder council of local patients, carers, voluntary and community groups will work with the community health services board to help develop services and monitor progress.
Due diligence is underway to fully risk assess the plans and the formal contracts are likely to be signed by the beginning of July.
The services will be phased in from October this year.
