Mandatory Title: BOB ICB Specialist Palliative Care and End of Life Service

NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) is seeking to commission Specialist Palliative care and end of life services for adults age 18+ including Palliative Community Care, Hospice Inpatient Care, Hospice at Home Services in Berkshire West and South Oxfordshire. <br/><br/>The main responsibilities include (but are not limited to):<br/><br/>

• Community Specialist Palliative and end of life care<br/>
• Inpatient bed provision<br/>
• Interventional Day hospice and outpatient provision<br/>
• Home Hospice care <br/>
• Lymphoedema assessment, care, and treatment<br/><br/>In addition to:<br/><br/>
• 24/7 advice and guidance for people with palliative and end of life care needs, their families, and their carers.<br/>
• Provide advanced symptom management<br/>
• Support for end of life decision-making, including preferred place of care if important to the person; encompassing personalised care and support conversations and advance care planning, including emergency care and treatment planning (using ReSPECT) and accessing NHS continuing healthcare funding and care.<br/>
• Parallel planning with condition-specific teams, e.g., heart failure specialists, respiratory team, complex neurological diseases team – this is appropriate for people whose recovery is uncertain.<br/>
• Rapid discharge from hospital to hospice or home for care at the end of life<br/>
• Specialist medical, nursing and therapy support for hospices and community palliative care teams<br/>
• Specialist equipment in the home [this may be commissioned on a case-by-case basis where unique needs are identified]<br/>
• Input into multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), pre and debriefs relating to a person’s death, and other professional meetings, at hospitals, hospices and in the community.<br/>
• Psychosocial support for patients and their families, and professionals [this may be via referral]<br/>
• Education and training programmes for specialist and generalist providers delivering palliative care for the BOB ICS.<br/><br/>The ICB aims to deliver the National Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care in addition to the local priority to improve access and experience of palliative and end of life services to enable people of all ages to die well. This strategic priority will be delivered across a range of services including inpatient and outpatient services, day hospices, hospice at home, community services, lymphoedema and pre and post bereavement services. The ICS joint forward plan goals include 24/7 access, promoting early identification of palliative population, utilising use of ReSPECT and working collaboratively with other providers ensuring the voice of lived experience is embedded in service review and plans. <br/><br/>The service will work as part of the Integrated Care System providing cross-organisational working to ensure the right care, right place, and the right time to support a person to die well in their preferred place of care and death. The delivery of the service will be supported by multidisciplinary teams both clinical and non-clinical staff with specialist skills and expertise. <br/><br/>The service will be instrumental in providing equitable Specialist Palliative care services. The service will work closely with the Integrated Care Board and system partners across all sectors (Primary, Secondary, Community Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector), raising awareness of death and dying and supporting compassionate communities to grow, whilst working towards changing society’s perception of death.<br/><br/>The contract will be for an initial term 7 years with an option to extend for any period up to a further 3 years, commencing January 2026.<br/><br/>The annual value of the contract is £3,554,051, with the total contract value of £35,540,510<br/><br/>This notice is placed as a Prior Information Notice (PIN) to inform the market of NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) (the Commissioner’s), intention to recommission Specialist Palliative Care and End of Life Service in Berkshire West and South Oxfordshire. The Commissioner would like to understand the level of provider interest in delivering these services. <br/><br/>TUPE is likely to apply.<br/><br/>The ICB invites interested providers to complete a pre-procurement market engagement questionnaire. Please submit your completed questionnaire by 12 Noon 27 September 2024 via our e-procurement system, Atamis.