Currently Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington CCGs have a single NHS 111 provider across the five boroughs and two GP out of hours providers. Integrating these two services will assist in reducing handovers and avoiding duplication. As the Integrated Urgent Care service will include connected IT and clinical systems, patients will not have to repeat their details and symptoms twice. This will lead to improved access and enhance the patient experience.
NHS Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), along with Barnet, Camden, Haringey and Islington CCGs, is pleased to announce that the contract to provide the Integrated Urgent Care NHS 111 and GP out of hours service to residents across North Central London has been awarded to London Central and West Unscheduled Care Collaborative (LCW). LCW, a GP-led not-for-profit
organisation, is the current NHS 111 provider for Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington.
The contract was awarded following an open and competitive tendering process in which potential providers were assessed against criteria heavily weighted in favour of quality of service.
The 111 telephone number is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year and calls are free from landlines and mobile phones. This service is for residents who need urgent medical help or advice when it is not a life-threatening situation. NHS 111 can direct patients to the service most appropriate for their health needs.
GP out of hours services are available so that people can access primary care, for urgent health problems, when their GP surgery is closed at night or over the weekend. Access to this service is via NHS 111.
On behalf of the five CCGs, Dr Sam Shah, Clinical Programme Lead for North Central London said:
“We are pleased to announce the outcome of this tendering process, LCW has experience of delivering high quality services both locally and in other parts of London. They have demonstrated an understanding of the local health needs of our diverse populations.
We want to improve patient experience of using and accessing urgent care services in North Central London, making sure our population receives optimal care from the right person, in the right location. We are confident that the new integrated service will give access to high quality urgent care for residents across Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington.”
Patient views and feedback played a significant role throughout the commissioning process, including in the design of the new service and development of local performance indicators. We received around 800 comments from a range of stakeholders on the design of the service and have used these comments and the feedback about patient experience to improve the specification. Moreover, a patient and public reference group was established, composed of residents from the five boroughs, as well as representatives of local Healthwatch organisations, to review and assist with the design of the service. Several members of this group also took part in the procurement assessment including participating in the procurement evaluation panel that assessed the potential providers.
Dr Sam Shah continued:
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those local residents, stakeholders and clinicians who took the time to give their views and feedback during the engagement process. Your valuable contribution has helped shape this integrated service and confirms our commitment to ensuring that patients are at the heart of the services we commission.
We would like to continue the process of engagement and we are seeking residents to participate in the mobilisation assurance process.”
The five year contract for this integrated urgent care service will commence from 1 October 2016.
