Sussex Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes Service - NHS/SOEPS/21.840 - CAN

Sussex NHS Commissioners are seeking bids from suitably qualified providers for the provision of a place-based Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH) service as part of the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Programme (EHCH). Tenders are invited for each place in Sussex - Brighton and Hove, East Sussex and West Sussex. Bidders may submit bids for one, two or all three places.

Contract start date = 01 February 2023

Contract end date = 31 January 2026 (plus opportunity for 2 years extension to 31 January 2028)

The service is offered for tender under a standard NHS contract for a period of 3 years

commencing on the 1st February 2023 with option to extend for a maximum of a further two

years. The total Financial Envelope for the maximum 5 year contract is £2,001,000 per annum,

i.e. £10,005,000 in total.

Closing date and time for Invitation to Tender (ITT) responses: 5pm on Monday 15th August, 2022.

Tender documents are available at in-tendhost.co.uk/soepscommissioning/a… ↗ .

Key aims and Objectives

The successful Bidder will offer a MOCH service to the residents of care homes that are within the boundaries of the Brighton & Hove, West Sussex or East Sussex places. Bidders can submit bids to offer services in one, two or all three places.

In summary the service aims to proactively support people living in Care Homes to achieve better healthcare outcomes through optimal handling and use of medicines. The scope of the MOCH service has been developed by the Contracting Authorities and is defined fully in the service specifications that form part of the tender documents for this procurement.

The service will ensure

• A MOCH pharmacist and pharmacy technician will be available to care homes and the wider EHCH Multi-Disciplinary Team for support and advice Monday-Friday (excluding bank holidays) during business hours.
• Rational and safe use of medicines, this can be achieved through but is not limited to Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs).
• Appropriate medicines optimisation and medicines use to support the reduction of workload of General Practitioners (GPs) and other MDT members.
• That residents and/or their families/representatives or carers are given the opportunity to be fully involved in decisions about their medicines
• Lead on the implementation of safe medicines optimisation systems in care homes that also support waste reduction initiatives and medicines inefficiency.
• Support for residents and care home staff as part of the transfer of care process including timely identification of residents requiring medicines optimisation support when moving between health and social care providers and sectors.

In addition, MOCH teams will be expected to provide strategic leadership to their MDT, place and wider EHCH Programme Board including:

• Advising on the processes for safe transfer of care around medicines use when residents are moving between sectors.
• Supporting care homes to identify and improve their medicines optimisation processes, systems, and training needs for care home staff.
• Supporting pharmacy workforce development - including the provision of Pharmacist and Pharmacy Technician trainee rotations for the specialism.
• In collaboration with system partners lead innovation for the development and implementation of effective MOCH initiatives across Sussex.

Additional information

Please note: NHS England and Improvement have announced that the Sussex Health and Care Partnership, which is made up of all health and care organisations across East Sussex, West Sussex, and Brighton and Hove, has successfully met the criteria to become an Integrated Care System (ICS). An ICS is a way of working across health and care organisations that allows them to work closer together, to take collective responsibility of the health and wellbeing of populations across large areas.