This contract consists of 2 Lots which cover two sets of activities which were combined into one single Healthwatch Devon contract from March 2013 until April 2017. Those activities are the Healthwatch Devon statutory health and social care consumer voice role (Lot 1) and the now separate local health and social care engagement function (Lot 2).

The estimated total value for Lot 1 is GBP 1 965 930 for the five (5) years of the contract.

The local engagement service (Lot 2) has no set contract value as there is no guarantee of business, but value will be between GBP 0 and GBP 1 187 146 for the five (5) years of the contract.

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 required local authorities with adult social care responsibilities to commission a local Healthwatch organisation to act as a consumer voice for people using health and social care services from 1.4.2013.

Consumer voice functions in brief are:

— Gathering views and understanding the experiences of people who use services, carers and the wider community

— Promoting and supporting involvement of people in the commissioning, provision and scrutiny of local care services — Recommending investigation into services via Healthwatch England or directly to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) (and possibly Ofsted or other regulators).

— Providing advice and information about access to services and support for making informed choices

— Making local views known to Healthwatch England.

Commissioners from New Devon CCG, Devon County Council and South Devon and Torbay CCG want to ensure that the users of health and social care services have a say on the planning, contracting and delivery of those services whenever possible. The local engagement service has no set contract value as there is no guarantee of business, but value will be between GBP 0 and GBP 1 187 146 for the five (5) years of the contract.

We look for meaningful opportunities for involvement within the ‘commissioning cycle’, things that patients and service users can actually influence the shape of.

While the Healthwatch consumer voice role airs general public views, we want to give a say to those people who use particular services.

For social care, we need to reach people who are actually eligible for our support, which means they usually have a high level of vulnerability. For the NHS, we need to reach patients who often use very specialised services.