The Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet to discuss public and member involvement, and the Whitehawk Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) contract. The meeting will be held in the Council Chamber at Hove Town Hall.

Here are the topics that the committee is expected to discuss:

Whitehawk Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) Contract

The committee is scheduled to discuss the NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) procurement of the Whitehawk Alternative Provider Medical Services (APMS) contract. According to the report pack, Councillor Gary Wilkinson, Chair of the Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee, has requested scrutiny of this issue because concerns about the procurement process have been raised by a number of local stakeholders .

Currently, Wellsbourne Healthcare Community Interest Company (Wellsbourne) holds the APMS contract for Whitehawk. The NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) announced its intention to undertake a competitive tender for the Whitehawk APMS contract in December 2023. The new contract was planned to be for a 7-year period, with a potential additional 2 years, and a total contract value of around £10.4 million.

After a standard bid evaluation process, the ICB announced on 14 March 2025 that it intended to award the contract to One Medicare. Wellsbourne, which had also bid for the contract, contacted the ICB with concerns about aspects of the tender process.

Wellsbourne then asked the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel (the Panel) to consider the concerns it had raised. The Panel agreed, publishing its findings on 23 July 2025, advising that the ICB should pause the procurement and consider restarting it at an earlier point to address flaws in the original process.

The ICB has announced that it will commission an external review of the APMS tender, which is expected to report in autumn 2025. The Whitehawk tender remains paused.

The report pack includes the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel report on the Whitehawk APMS Contract tender, and states that scrutiny of these matters may require some discussion in confidential session given the commercially confidential nature of some information relating to the tender.

The report also notes that:

The Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel ('the Panel') is a mechanism established by NHS England (and created by relevant legislation) to provide independent expert advice on Provider Selection Regime (PSR) decisions. Its input may be requested by an aggrieved provider, as has happened here. While any advice a Panel gives is not binding on the ICB (it cannot for instance overturn decisions), that advice must be considered by the body commissioning the services.

The Provider Selection Regime (PSR) is the regulatory framework that underpins NHS procurement¹.

Public Involvement

The committee will consider petitions, written questions, and deputations submitted by members of the public. These submissions must have been received by 12 noon on 16 September 2025.

Member Involvement

The committee will also consider petitions, written questions, letters, and notices of motion submitted by councillors.