High Intensity User Service, West Sussex

Contract summary

Industry

• Health and social work services - 85000000

Location of contract

South East

Value of contract

£240,000

Procurement reference

NHS/SCW/23.901 CAN

Published date

20 September 2023

Closing date

29 August 2023

Closing time

5pm

Contract start date

1 December 2023

Contract end date

30 November 2024

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Other: Direct Award LTR

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes

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Description

This notice is to inform the market of the direct award of a 12 month contract to The British Red Cross Society, for provision of a High Intensity User Service in West Sussex for NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB), commencing 1st December 2023. The contract value is £240,000.00 for 12 months.

People who frequently attend Emergency Departments (ED) are few in number, but their impact on health systems is significant. They make up less than one per cent of the population, but account for a significant proportion of all Emergency Department attendances, ambulance journeys and hospital admissions. It is estimated that this costs the NHS at least £2.5bn per year.

HIU services are nationally regarded as best practice, to support the high intensity user to reduce emergency care use, by providing psychosocial support, crisis planning, and signposting in the community.

The service is based on the evidence based model developed by Blackpool CCG, NHS Right Care and British Red Cross and offers a robust way of reducing HIU activity to ED, consequently freeing up urgent care services for people that need them most.

The model requires the identification of frequent ED attenders utilising acute trust data systems. Additional people may be identified due to their vulnerability as opposed to high use of ED. For example, they may have only called 999 or presented to ED between 5-10 times over the previous three months but presented with high risk episodes of self-harm or homelessness.

HIU services use a health coaching approach, targeting high users of services and support the most vulnerable adults within the community more appropriately, whilst making better use of available resources. The service works with local partner organisations and connects people with their local community including drug and alcohol services, housing, social services and third sector groups.

The service will cover the West Sussex area, specifically working with University Hospitals Sussex (UHSussex) emergency departments at Worthing Hospital, St Richard's Hospital, Chichester and Surrey & Sussex Healthcare (SaSH), East Surrey Hospital.

The British Red Cross Society are the incumbent provider of the High Intensity User Service in Brighton and Hove and East Sussex. There is currently no High Intensity User Service in place in West Sussex. To address this inequitable provision, non-recurrent health inequalities funding has been secured, to run a 12 month pilot of this service in West Sussex. The pilot will enable the evaluation of the service's effectiveness, with a view to securing potential longer term investment, allowing a procurement to be undertaken for a longer-term service for the future.
This direct award decision has been taken in the context of meeting patient need and improving service quality.

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Award information

Awarded date

29 August 2023

Contract start date

1 December 2023

Contract end date

30 November 2024

Total value of contract

£240,000

This contract was awarded to 1 supplier.

British Red Cross

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About the buyer

Contact name

Sarah Rix MCIPS Chartered

Address

Sackville House, Brooks Close (please send any comms electronically to ensure receipt)
Lewes
BN7 2FZ
United Kingdom

Email

sarah.rix1@nhs.net