Decision details

The Cabinet Member approved the recommendation to award the contract for the delivery of an Integrated Community Sexual Health Service within Peterborough to Cambridgeshire Community Services (CCS) for a total of £4,571,017.00.

The contract will operate for the period 1^st July 2014 to 30^th June 2017 with the option to extend the contract for a further two 12 month periods at the Council’s discretion.

Since 1^st April 2013, local authorities have a statutory duty to commission most sexual health services as part of their wider public health responsibilities.

The number of acute STIs in Peterborough has increased in recent years and the city went from being ranked 123rd out of 326 local authorities in 2011 to 89^th in 2012 (with 1 having the highest rate of acute STIs).  Peterborough has an above average rate of teenage pregnancy and nearly a third of abortions to women of all ages in Peterborough are repeat abortions.

Traditionally, sexual health services have been split into community contraceptive services and hospital based genitourinary medicine (GUM) services. This can often mean a person in need of contraception who also has symptoms of an STI must attend two separate services – one for contraception and one for STI treatment. This can be a barrier to access and uptake of services, particularly for some vulnerable and high risk groups.

By integrating the services we will provide a ‘one stop shop’ in which a person can have all their sexual health and contraceptive needs met in one place by one clinician wherever possible. Not only is this more convenient for local residents it will ‘normalise’ STI testing and treatment.

The contract will be funded through Public Health budgets.

The following options were considered and rejected:

Option 1 - Continuation of current services.  This option was rejected for the following reasons:

a)      The retender exercise was triggered as one of the incumbent providers did not success in its bid to achieve Foundation Trust status and was likely to dissolve on 1^st April 2014. This would have caused a significant gap in service. In September 2013, the NHS Trust Development Authority re-affirmed its support of the organisation continuing as a Trust, allowing it to compete for contracts in any procurement process

b)      Operating two separate services for sexual health and contraception in different parts of the city does not put patients at the centre. It reduces accessibility and limits opportunities to address patient health concerns of STI transmission and unintended pregnancy at the same time.

c)       A retender exercise will generate competition within the market, potentially leading to innovation and better value for money for the Council.

Option 2 - Do not provide sexual health services

This option was rejected as Peterborough City Council has a statutory duty to commission sexual health and contraceptive services.

In addition, not providing these services would likely result in increased prevalence of STIs, HIV and unintended pregnancies thereby presenting significant public health issues and as a result further financial pressures on the Council.

None.

No additional documents were used