Published date: 8 August 2018
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.
Contract summary
Industry
Pharmacy services - 85149000
Location of contract
London
Value of contract
£120,000
Procurement reference
TOWER001-DN350912-95175313
Published date
8 August 2018
Closing date
12 September 2018
Contract start date
15 October 2018
Contract end date
14 October 2019
Contract type
Service contract
Procedure type
Open procedure
Any interested supplier may submit a tender in response to an opportunity notice.
Contract is suitable for SMEs?
Yes
Contract is suitable for VCSEs?
No
Description
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets (LBTH) is inviting bids from established, suitably experienced and qualified LBTH community pharmacy providers for the above services.
The aim of the service is to provide a needle exchange and harm reduction service to Tower Hamlets residents aged 18 or over.
NICE guidance published in 2014 outlines the main aim of needle and syringe programmes as "to reduce the transmission of blood-borne viruses and other infections caused by sharing injecting equipment, such as HIV, hepatitis B and C. In turn, this will reduce the prevalence of blood-borne viruses and bacterial infections, so benefiting wider society.
The World Health Organisation seeks to compact Hepatitis B and C to eliminate the viral hepatitis by 2030. Many needle and syringe programmes also aim to reduce the other harms caused by drug use and include:
• Advice on minimizing the harms caused by drugs
• Help to stop using drugs by providing access to drug treatment (for example, opioid substitution therapy)
• Access to other health and welfare services"
There are estimated to be 3,561 opiate and crack users in the borough and over 700 injecting drug users. Prevalence estimates suggest that numbers are increasing.
Opiate and crack users make up around 85% of the treatment population in Tower Hamlets; however, there is around 47% of OCUs not engaging with treatment services.
The provision of clean and safe injecting paraphernalia contributes towards minimising the harm associated with equipment sharing and the repeated use of equipment.
Facilitating the return of used equipment also contributes positively not only to health outcomes, but also to the environment and local community as this can reduce potential risk posed to residents of the borough by discarded paraphernalia.
Additionally, needle exchange services can act as single point of contact and provide valuable interface between clients and front-line services; particularly for clients who do not engage in treatment.
Tower Hamlets has existing needle exchange provision in Network Area/ LAP (Local Area Partnership) 1 and 2 and we would welcome bids from pharmacies based within the following LAP/ Network Areas
1. LAP 3
2. LAP 4
3. LAP 5
4. LAP 6
5. LAP 7
6. LAP 8
This takes into consideration the geographical location of existing needle exchange provision and recent and upcoming changes to hostel locations as part of the reconfiguration of the hostel provision. Please refer to the below map which highlights the network areas.
About the buyer
Contact name
Dawn Cafferty
Address
Mulberry Place
London
E14 2BG
United Kingdom
procurement@towerhamlets.gov.uk
Website
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Closing: 12 September 2018
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