Issue - meetings

The Director of Public Health to present a report which seeks approval to award a contract to Nimbuscare Ltd for provision of LARC in Primary Care for a further two years following expiry of the current contract, pending the transition to the new Humber, Coast and Vale Integrated Care System Board.

Resolved:  (i)      That the Chief Operating Officer (COO) be recommended to approve Option 3, and agree to the direct award of a further contract to Nimbuscare Ltd for provision of LARC in Primary Care for a further two (2) years when the current contract expires on 30 June 2022 without proceeding with a full tender exercise.

Reason:     To ensure that the council delivers the joint commissioning responsibilities set out in the Section 75 agreement with the CCG and to ensure that that the statutory public health responsibilities for access to sexual health and contraception are met.

                   (ii)      That the COO be recommended to require that the provision of LARC for contraception purposes will be open to all persons who meet the clinical criteria and that the contract will reflect this and the council’s policies.

Reason:     To ensure equality of access to services.

The Nurse Consultant in Public Health presented a report which sought approval to award a contract to Nimbuscare Ltd for provision of LARC in Primary Care for a further two years after expiry of the current contract, pending the transition to the new Humber, Coast and Vale Integrated Care System Board.

The contract had been awarded to Nimbuscare from 1 April 2020 for a period of 12 months, then extended to 30 June 2022 by a waiver of the council’s Contract Procedure Rules due to the pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.  In the light of these ongoing pressures, approval was now sought to directly award a further contract to Nimbuscare, as the simplest way for the council to deliver its statutory responsibilities in the current circumstances.

Three options were available, as detailed in paragraphs 17-22 of the report, and summarised below:

Option 1 – allow the existing contract to end on 30 June 2022.  Not recommended, as it would prevent the council from meeting its contractual and statutory obligations.

Option 2 – commence a full re-procurement process before expiry of the contract on 30 June.  Not recommended, due to pressure on council resources and the likelihood of not finding another provider.

Option 3 – award a new contract to Nimbuscare without running a full procurement exercise.  This was the recommended option.  Full details of the legal implications of this option were set out in the report.  The potential risk of a legal challenge had been assessed as low.

Resolved:  (i)      That the Chief Operating Officer (COO) be recommended to approve Option 3, and agree to the direct award of a further contract to Nimbuscare Ltd for provision of LARC in Primary Care for a further two (2) years when the current contract expires on 30 June 2022 without proceeding with a full tender exercise.

Reason:     To ensure that the council delivers the joint commissioning responsibilities set out in the Section 75 agreement with the CCG and to ensure that that the statutory public health responsibilities for access to sexual health and contraception are met.

                   (ii)      That the COO be recommended to require that the provision of LARC for contraception purposes will be open to all persons who meet the clinical criteria and that the contract will reflect this and the council’s policies.

Reason:     To ensure equality of access to services.