Purpose

This report concerns the award of tender for a local Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service for Brent residents.

Decision

To approve the award of a contract for the provision of an Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service to POhWER. The contract term will be for an initial period of two years with the option to extend for up to two years on a 2+1+1 basis. The contract value is capped at £60k per year for up to 4 years.

Reasons for the decision

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 transferred the responsibility of commissioning NHS Complaints Advocacy services from Central Government to Local Government to ensure the service delivery meets the legal requirements as described in the Health and Social Care Act 2014 and any future regulations.

The Brent Independent Health Complaint Advocacy Service (IHCAS) empowers and supports clients, their family, carer or representative to go through the complaints procedures for complaint or grievance related to any aspect of care or treatment they received from NHS funded services and to assist them in finding a resolution.

Provision of an independent health complaints advocacy to local residents is a key public service, therefore access to high quality an independent complaints advocacy service without interruption is vital to enabling early resolution of potential problems that, without intervention, may lead to complex and distressing circumstances for residents.

The Council requires the provision of a contract for IHCAS to commence on 1st June 2023.

Alternative options considered

The recommended award of contract has been based on a procurement process conducted in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the Regulations) and has been based on a detailed evaluation criteria and process.