Newham Council has awarded a contract for occupational health and employee assistance services to Optima Health UK Ltd, for an initial period of three years with an optional one year extension. The decision was made by Conrad Hall, the Corporate Director of Resources at the council. The contract is worth £605,715 and was awarded following a competitive tendering process.

Occupational Health & Employee Assistance Programme

Newham Council's existing contract for Occupational Health and Employee Assistance programmes is due to expire on 30th April 2025, and this decision was made to put a new contract in place before the current one ends.

The council decided to offer the services covered by the contracts to its own staff, staff of its trading arm - LATCO - and to Newham schools, believing that this would provide economies of scale and allow it to negotiate lower prices.

The decision report states that:

Running a further competition under a framework significantly improved the price per head by encouraging a competitive bidding environment among potential suppliers.

Two suppliers bid for lot 1, Occupational Health Services, and five suppliers bid for lot 2, Employee Assistance Programmes. The winning bidder scored 97.35% for lot 1, and 86.6% for lot 2.

The report identifies a number of potential benefits that the council expects to realise from the new contracts.

• The contracts will support the council's environmental policies by allowing it to offer more appointments by telephone, reducing the need for staff and patients to travel.
• The contracts will support Newham Council's policy of building an inclusive local economy by allowing small local business and schools to access services at low cost.
• The contracts will support the council's health policies, as 35% of the council's employees live in the borough.

The report notes that the council considered not appointing a provider for these services at all, but rejected this, because:

having an Occupational Health & Employee Assistance provider aids LBN compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and the Health and Safety Act 1974

and that:

If these services are not maintained, the Council’s ability to manage and support the health of its employee would be at risk.