NHS Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Clinical Commissioning Groups Spirometry Services

Commissioners are seeking to engage with the market to establish the capacity and interest of potential providers to deliver Spirometry testing.

The current service provision is delivered in both primary care and acute care settings, however during the pandemic, delivery of spirometry testing has been greatly reduced. The current provision of spirometry testing in primary care is limited by such factors as; adequate ventilation, registration and compliance with ARTP training and guidance and overall capacity.

Secondary care providers have continued to deliver Spirometry testing in acute settings to provide some patient access, but this model is unsustainable and inefficient.

Commissioners are therefore seeking to engage potential providers with regard to understanding their interest, capacity, and readiness to deliver a twelve-month (with potential to extend by a further twelve-months) service to reduce the backlog that has been building throughout the pandemic.

The future provision of spirometry services is being assessed and the commissioning objective (post reduction of the current backlog of patient need) is to secure a long-term solution in a primary/community care setting.

Commissioners wish to understand;

a. The number of spirometry tests that potential providers would be able to deliver in a twelve-month period

b. The readiness of providers to deliver spirometry tests and the timeframes within which providers can mobilise and commence delivery of services

c. The price point at which providers can deliver spirometry testing and the associative reporting of results to GP practices.

Providers are requested to answer these questions when registering interest by 12:00 hours on Wednesday 2nd March 2022.

Commissioners are seeking to engage with a range of providers to inform a potential future procurement and welcome feedback and comments from all interested parties.

There is presently a significant backlog of patient need for spirometry testing across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and any future procurement would seek to support clearing this backlog while medium and long term service options are considered and developed.

Commissioners are seeking to mobilise proposed contracts as soon as possible in order to address the backlog that has been building throughout the pandemic. Should this service be subject to a procurement, it will be advertised separately, and providers will need to register separately when the opportunity is advertised. The CCGs would be seeking to mobilise as soon as possible from the award of any contract.

The proposed contract term is twelve months, with a further twelve-month extension possible upon review.

Providers will be required to ensure that results can be shared with GP practices and other providers as necessary, and that all national guidance is adhered to.

Further information relating to these aspects, as well as total budget and the total number of tests to be commissioned, will be made available, pending market engagement outcomes, via the service specification and ITT documentation - should the CCGs commence procurement of the service.

Please respond via ITT_827 on the Bravo E-Sourcing portal (mlcsu.bravosolution.co.uk ↗) using the messaging tool. Additional information: Additional information of the ARTP Spirometry Certification and associative guidance is available here - Spirometry Certification (artp.org.uk).

All providers of Spirometry must comply with ARTP guidance related to performing spirometry during Covid -19 Pandemic, available here - COVID-19 (artp.org.uk).