Integrated Community Musculoskeletal (MSK) Service for Newcastle Gateshead CCG

North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) are working for and on behalf of NHS Newcastle Gateshead CCG who wish to commission an Integrated Community MSK service for Newcastle Gateshead and are inviting expressions of interest in this tender opportunity.

The overarching outcome of the service is to emphasise self-management and education to minimize the proportion of patients requiring intervention or onward referral.

The service will integrate to reduce handoffs and improve patient outcomes.

The service will provide a robust triage service and where intervention is required this will be delivered rapidly The service will have the following objectives: 1) Enable patients to take ownership and to adopt strategies of living, which allow them to lead as fulfilling and independent lives as possible with less reliance on the health care system.

2) Work with GPs to increase their knowledge and confidence of diagnosis and management of MSK conditions and in the early intervention of pain management techniques 3) Provide robust triage through a single point of access 4) Provide clinical assessment, treatment and clinical leadership within a comprehensive community service.

5) To arrange, where necessary, relevant investigations 6) To identify patients who are appropriate for surgical intervention and make onwards referral 7) Use shared decision making to deliver support and programmes to patients enabling them to understand and come to terms with their pain.

8) Encourage connectivity across MSK and pain pathways, developing collaborative and cross boundary working with other parties.

The contract is for an initial 5 years plus the option to extend the contract for a period of 2 years at the discretion of the Contracting Authority subject to satisfactory financial and contractual performance.

Under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 the contracting authority must consider: How what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of Newcastle and Gateshead and how, in conducting the process of procurement, it might act with a view to securing the improvement.

This will be tested via the response to the tender.