What's next - Strategicprojectseoe.co.uk

S u f folk
NHS Suffolk / SCH News for staff Edition 1, May 2011
In this issue...
What’s happening to community services?
Why is divestment necessary?
Message from the Chief Executive
First points of contact
About this newsletter
In close collaboration with
GPs, patient and public
representatives and other
health and social care
partners, NHS Suffolk has
started a project to find a new
home for community services.
This newsletter is for staff to
give regular information on
the process.
leading health in Suffolk

What’s next Edition 1 May 2011
What’s
happening to
community
services?
The search is now on to find a long-term solution to
manage community services in Suffolk.
On 1 April 2012 the remaining services offered in the community,
currently under temporary management, will be run by a new
organisation or organisations to create a more joined-up healthcare
system for patients and the public.
This process, known as divestment, is part of the national
Transforming Community Services programme. You will know that
some of our services, such as Universal Children’s or Sexual Health
are already divested, and we are now concentrating on settling the
remainder. These have been divided into four groups, which are:
1. Adult universal services - East
2. Adult universal services - West
3. Community equipment - Wheelchair/Assisted Technology
4. Specialist paediatric services
Adult universal includes integrated teams, bed services, heart failure
specialist nurses, osteoporosis, independent living, adult speech and
language therapy. Foot and ankle surgery, salaried community
dental services and marginalised adults will be dealt with under a
different process. Any split of services between the east and the
west will be done as sensibly and sensitively as possible.
NHS Suffolk is being supported in this work by the Strategic Projects
Team (SPT) at NHS East of England which has worked with other
PCTs on similar projects.
How it’s happening?
We are embarking on what is known as an ‘open competition’ and
are asking organisations from the NHS, voluntary and independent
sectors to put in proposals.
Some of our services have
already been divested, like
sexual health services, and
we are now concentrating
on settling the remainder.
It begins with an OJEU notice (Official Journal of the European
Union) which formally advertises this exciting opportunity to
potential bidders. This OJEU notice was published on 16 May and
you will be able to view this online at:
www.strategicprojectseoe.co.uk/index.php?id_sec=159
Interested organisations then express an interest through
completing a pre qualification questionnaire (PQQ). This detailed
questionnaire probes their quality of services, experience of
providing community services, how they manage their staff and
their finances, among other things.
page 2

What’s next Edition 1 May 2011
Why is
divestment
necessary?
The Department of Health
considers that PCTs have a
conflict in their role. PCTs
commission services, buying
them for their local
community, but currently
provide them as well. This
means that that there is
little scope for
‘competition’, and in some
areas the quality of these
services are in need of
development.
By divesting provider arms,
PCTs can focus energies on
commissioning, paving the
way for GPs to form
contractual relationships
with those that provide
services, better meeting the
needs of patients, carers,
families and local people.
A shortlist will be created based on their responses to these
questions and these organisations will be invited to take part in a
formal process to select the recommended bidder or bidders. We
should be in a position to name the recommended bidder or bidders
by mid November 2011.
This will be followed by a series of robust internal and external
approvals. By the end of January next year, the organisation or
organisations taking over community services in Suffolk will be
confirmed and a smooth transition of staff and services can begin.
The formal handover is scheduled for 1 April 2012.
Want to know more or get involved?
Understandably, everyone has lots of questions about how the
process is shaping up, who is involved, how long it will take and
how staff, services users, carers and other stakeholders can be part
of what’s happening. Suffolk Community Healthcare senior staff
and staff side representatives are involved so far.
The East of England Strategic Projects Team (SPT) is kindly
collating all the information relating to this divestment on its
website at www.eoe.nhs.uk/strategicprojects. This is so there’s a
‘one-stop information centre’ of related documents, minutes,
papers and publications.
If you’d like to speak to someone, then your first points of call are
listed on the next page, along with an email address
comms@suffolkpct.nhs.uk to post comments to.
There will be more opportunities to discuss this in the normal
staff briefings.
Staff within Suffolk
Community Healthcare
provide an excellent service.
The overall aims of such
divestment are to secure a
sustainable future for these
services and staff, while
ensuring quality and value
for money of the services.
Answers to other FAQs like
this one can be found on
www.eoe.nhs.uk/strategic
projects - just click on
community services.
page 3

What’s next Edition 1 May 2011
Message
from the
Chief
Executive
First points of contact
NHS Suffolk
Sharon Stott
Deputy director of
strategic commissioning
sharon.stott@suffolkpct.nhs.uk
01473 770234
Suffolk Community Healthcare
Dawn Godbold
Chief operating officer
dawn.godbold@suffolkpct.nhs.uk
01449 776601
“We are entering a new phase of the national
programme ensure the community services in Suffolk
continue to work well in the future. This will end by
1 April 2012.
“This process will mean we continue to have a well-managed
service for patients, focussed on driving up quality and delivering
value for money.
“Suffolk Community Healthcare services will become part of a new
organisation or organisations which will be chosen following an
extremely rigorous selection process.
“This divestment process is a big piece of work, which is why we will
be drawing on the expertise of the Strategic Projects Team at NHS
East of England. The team supported NHS Luton and NHS
Bedfordshire with their divestments this year. It also worked to
broker the take over of Bedfordshire and Luton Mental Health and
Social Care Partnership NHS Trust (BLPT) by South Essex Partnership
University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT) last year.
“Please take every opportunity to get involved and ask questions.
“It will make sure we attract the organisations which can improve
services for patients, carers and the many other people committed
to healthcare.”
Dr Paul Watson
NHS Suffolk Chief Executive
Strategic Projects Team,
NHS East of England
Samantha Sherratt
Marketing & stakeholder
engagement manager
samantha.sherratt@eoe.nhs.uk
01223 596946
If you have any questions
please post them to
comms@suffolkpct.nhs.uk and
alternatively call 01473 770014
page 4