Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is an ambitious and growing organisation which continuously strives to provide safe and effective care to the people of Cumbria. We employ 4267 members of staff (including bank staff) and serve a population of approximately 495 000 in relation to community health needs and mental health needs. The county is one of the most sparsely populated in the UK with 73,4 people per km2.
Our services are delivered across the whole of Cumbria and are supported by an effective countywide infrastructure and local governance. With our Governors, clinical leaders and commissioning partners we set strategy and guide our Foundation Trust to attain our NHS and wider partnership goals for the whole Cumbrian community.
Our annual plan has been developed to ensure the continued success of the Trust in delivering healthcare and improving health for the people of Cumbria. We have engaged with our Governors to develop our plan and have taken the external environment within which the Trust operates into account to ensure that our objectives are aligned with our long term goals.
Our vision is:
To be the pre-eminent provider of community care.
Our long term aims are to:
— deliver excellent healthcare,
— partner with our commissioners,
— connect with our communities.
Our annual plan objectives are to:
— achieve optimum patient and carer safety,
— achieve the best possible outcomes for people,
— deliver an excellent patient and staff experience in the delivery of healthcare,
— engage our staff and support them achieve their full potential,
— be commercially successful.
Following the transfer of Community Services to Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in 2011 the Trust has two contracts in place for the provision of Occupational Health. Both providers have teams in place which comprise Occupational Health Advisers and Occupational Health Physicians. In order to achieve the aims outlined above the Trust is keen to have one provider for the delivery of an occupational health service across the whole of the organisation.
As the existing contracts for the provision of occupational health will expire at the end of January 2013 the Trust is looking to award the new contract by 31stOctober 2012 following a full procurement process.
* Outline Specification of Requirement.
The Occupational Health Service will be provided to all employees of the Trust (including bank staff) and individuals with honorary appointments with the Trust.
The Trust seeks to provide a quality, preventative and treatment Occupational Health service that is both timely and responsive to service need. The service should have a risk based approach to Occupational Health including procedures to ensure staff with chronic conditions are managed in the best way possible with reasonable flexibility and work plan adjustments. We are looking for a timely and responsive occupational health service based across the whole geographical area of the organisation which comprises six Operational Localities, Carlisle, Eden, Allerdale, Copeland, South Lakes and Furness. Clinical Occupational Health staff should hold appropriate UKCC or GMC registration and be suitably qualified. The contractor will be responsible for the recruitment of Occupational Health staff, but will involve representatives from the Trust during the selection process. Organisations tendering for the service should detail the workforce and Organisational structure proposed for the provision of the service.
The Occupational Health Service will be required to provide adequate replacement cover for absences, including annual leave and sick leave. If for any reason the contractor is unable to provide a service the Trust must be informed in writing as soon as possible and not later than 5 days before the service will not be provided. It is appreciated that in exceptional circumstances this may not be possible. In which case notice should not be less than twenty four hours before the service will not be provided. Members of the Occupational Health team will be expected to attend the Operational Management Meetings and case conferences as and when required.
*Core Services required.
The Occupational Health Service should provide a comprehensive range of services that comply with both statutory requirement and local policy (i.e. local Sickness Absence Management Policy). The core services the Trust requires are described below:
— a quality preventative and treatment service that is both timely and responsive to service need for 4 000 to 4 500 members of staff delivering services across Cumbria,
— a balanced risk assessment approach to Occupational Health including procedures to ensure staff with chronic conditions are managed in the best way possible with reasonable flexibility and work plan adjustments,
— a proactive absence management service delivered by the relevant OH practitioner that will drive improvement in staff attendance. The approach should include timely follow up of sick absence episodes including comprehensive reports in particular in cases where either alternative employment is being contemplated or termination of employment,
— comprehensive fitness for work advice through pre-employment and employment screening,
— health Surveillance through:
—— compliance with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations,
—— compliance with Display Screen Equipment Regulations,
—— to supplement the in house training programme on DSE workstation assessments conducting specialist assessments over and above in house knowledge,
— infection Control through:
—— an immunisation and vaccination programme,
— quality management information based on agreed KPI’s and audits of the service.
* Additional Services.
In addition to the core services outlined above the Trust would like prospective providers to include as part of the full tender process costs for the following desirable services on an individual basis:
— proactive OH processes that are underpinned by appropriate evidence and health promotion that is integral to service provision,
— working alongside our in house service for psychological services and OH MSK physiotherapy services.