Issue - meetings

The Director of Public Health to present a report that outlines options for ensuring the continued provision of Long Acting Reversible Contraception within the local population from 1 April 2020.

Resolved:  (i)      That Option 1 be approved, enabling a joint commissioning approach for the provision of Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) between City of York Council (CYC) and NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (VoYCCG).

Reason:     To ensure that CYC meets its mandated responsibility to provide LARC to women in York through effective and efficient joint commissioning arrangements.

                   (ii)      That approval be given to procure LARC through a competitive tendering process, to secure provision for the proposed duration of commissioned activity, from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2026.

Reason:     To provide adequate resources and duration of contract to ensure that provision of LARC within York is equitable and sustainable.

                   (iii)     That authority to award a contract to the preferred bidder be delegated to the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Care.

Reason:     To enable the contract to be awarded in a timely manner and allow maximum time for mobilisation of the new service to commence from 1 April 2019.

The Director of Public Health presented a report which outlined options for ensuring the continued provision of Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) within the local population from 1 April 2020 onwards.

LARC was currently commissioned through a Section 75 agreement with Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (VoYCCG), with VoYCCG acting as commissioner on behalf of City of York Council (CYC) and services provided by NimbusCare.  Rather than a ‘block’ contract to deliver a specific, broadly defined service, payment was provided for each LARC fitted.  With demand increasing year on year, this put CYC at risk of exceeding statutory limits for spend not aligned to a formal tender process, because LARC provision could not be rationed according to budget availability.

The following options were available:

Option 1 – VoYCCG to delegate the exercise of its LARC function to CYC, which would then lead commission a service.  This was the recommended option.

Option 2 – CYC to commission its own LARC service independent of VoYCCG.

Option 3- CYC and VoYCCG to enter into a form of joint procurement of LARC services.

Option 4- CYC to delegate the exercise of its LARC function to VoYCCG, which would then lead commission a service.

Resolved:  (i)      That Option 1 be approved, enabling a joint commissioning approach for the provision of Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) between City of York Council (CYC) and NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (VoYCCG).

Reason:     To ensure that CYC meets its mandated responsibility to provide LARC to women in York through effective and efficient joint commissioning arrangements.

                   (ii)      That approval be given to procure LARC through a competitive tendering process, to secure provision for the proposed duration of commissioned activity, from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2026.

Reason:     To provide adequate resources and duration of contract to ensure that provision of LARC within York is equitable and sustainable.

                   (iii)     That authority to award a contract to the preferred bidder be delegated to the Director of Public Health, in consultation with the Executive Member for Health and Adult Social Care.

Reason:     To enable the contract to be awarded in a timely manner and allow maximum time for mobilisation of the new service to commence from 1 April 2019.