Published date: 16 August 2022

Last edited date: 23 August 2022

Closed opportunity - This means that the contract is currently closed. The buying department may be considering suppliers that have already applied, or no suitable offers were made.


Closing: 13 September 2022, 12pm

Contract summary

Industry

  • Health services - 85100000

Location of contract

United Kingdom, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, British Oversea Territories, Europe, Rest of the World

Value of contract

£110,000

Procurement reference

CF-1029400D0O000000rwimUAA

Published date

16 August 2022

Closing date

13 September 2022

Closing time

12pm

Contract start date

21 September 2022

Contract end date

31 March 2023

Contract type

Service contract

Procedure type

Open procedure (below threshold)

Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.

This procedure can be used for procurements below the relevant contract value threshold.

Contract is suitable for SMEs?

Yes

Contract is suitable for VCSEs?

Yes


Description

The Midwifery Continuity of Carer (MCoC) model, which is part of the Maternity Transformation Programme (MTP) and builds on the recommendations of Better Births supports the commitment of the NHS Long Term Plan for safe, personalised care and achieve 50% reductions in stillbirth, maternal mortality, neonatal mortality and serious brain injury, and to reduce the rate of preterm births from 8% to 6% by 2025.

The ambition for the NHS in England is for MCoC to be the default model of care for maternity services and available to all pregnant women in England, with rollout prioritized to those most likely to experience poorer outcomes. In accordance with the principle of proportionate universalism this means that as continuity of carer is rolled out to most women, women from neighbourhoods with high numbers of women from Black, Asian, and Mixed ethnic groups, and women living in deprived areas are prioritized, with plans for implementation in place by June 2022, with safe staffing and building blocks taken into consideration. The aim is for 75% of women in these groups receiving continuity of carer by March 2024 (Equity and equality Guidance for local maternity systems 2021).

NHS England are working with the Department of Health and Social Care to implement the 15 Immediate & Essential Actions (IEAs) and every trust, ICS and LMS/LMNS Board must consider and then act on the report's findings. In the context of this recommendation, the 1 April letter from the Chief Executive, Chief Nursing and Chief Medical Officers at NHSEI restates the 15th June deliverable for the agreement of MCoC plans staffing. This guidance builds and updates on Delivering Midwifery Continuity of Carer at full scale (October 2021).

Updated system guidance published on the 6th May 2022 within the context of the Final report of the Ockenden review and the Immediate and Essential Actions (IEAS) that relate to Continuity of Carer includes:
• Requirements relating to the agreement of plans to deliver Midwifery Continuity of Carer (MCoC) as the default model of care by March 2024, or to timescales linked to essential recruitment of midwives, as agreed with Regional Boards.
• As part of this, how to use the Assurance Template to summarise plans for regional and national assurance.
• How systems should plan to roll out Enhanced MCoC teams for the most deprived areas, with a view to receiving funding for implementation from Q3 2022/3. Note the enhanced scheme for continuity of carer will be the subject of separate research.

There is now a clear need for an evaluation to be undertaken on the implementation of MCoC to assess its effectiveness, the impact on maternity services, the women who use them and any unintended consequences. This evaluation will also inform the ongoing implementation of MCoC.

More information can be found via https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome


About the buyer

Contact name

NHS England Commercial Team

Address

Quarry Hill
Leeds
LS2 7UE
GB

Telephone

07841929798

Email

england.commercialqueries@nhs.net