Agenda item

The Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group to submit a report on the procurement of a Diabetes Structured Patient Education programme for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

The Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group submitted a report on the procurement of a Diabetes Structured Patient Education programme for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.  Hannah Hutchinson, Senior Strategy and Implementation Manager, LCCCG attended the meeting and outlined the proposal to the Commission. 

It was noted that the existing education programme known as DESMOND (Diabetes Education and Self-Management for Ongoing and Newly Diagnosed) had been provided by the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) and the Leicester Diabetes Centre.  The contract was due to expire of 1 April 2016.

The Competition and Procurement Committee had previously agreed in June 2015, after a 12 week patient engagement process, to offer the new service to the market through the open procurement process.  A GP, nurse, patient representatives and commissioning officers from all three CCGs were involved in preparing the specification for the new tender.  Following the procurement process, Spirit Healthcare was identified as the preferred provider.  Spirit Healthcare will be meeting with Leicester City CCG’s clinical lead and GP diabetes mentors on a quarterly basis to discuss any operational changes that may be needed to the course or to discuss issues raised by patients.  There will also be monthly Contract Performance Review meetings for the first three months which will then become quarterly.

The new course, EMPOWER, provided better benefits to patients and was more flexible its operation.  Some of the benefits were:-

·         Offering courses with Gujarati speaking personnel.  There were also options for interpreters to be available for other languages if necessary.

·         The courses would be tailored to address different dietary preferences in different communities and to take account of different faiths and religions, particularly when fasting.

·         Booklets had been translated into the top 10 languages prevalent in the City and information had been put on the GPs information services so details could be printed off for patients.

·         The information was also available in braille.

·         The course was flexible to be delivered at a time that suited the patient and could be split over two days if required.

·         The courses could be provided at a number of community based venues.

·         There was a 24/7 telephone number and helpline for patients.

·         The course would also be available to patients with a HbA1c of over 8 where the GP felt the patient would benefit from participating on the course.

·         Spirit Healthcare would also follow up patients at 6 and 12 months following completion of the initial programme.

·         The course was available to the patient and a carer of their choice.

Spirit Healthcare had received 86 referrals to date and had three courses planned for late April and May.

Members made the following comments:-

a)         Diabetes patients were susceptible to extensive bruising from comparatively minor injuries and it was felt this should be included in the education programme.

b)         It was equally important for family members and work place colleagues to have an understanding of the diabetes in order that they could recognise symptoms of a hypoglycaemic reaction and understand what steps to take.  

The Senior Strategy and Implementation Manager stated that she would feedback on Members’ comments to see if they could be included in the education programme.

The Director of Corporate Affairs also stated that Spirit Healthcare had considerable experience in delivering these courses had scored highly during the procurement process on delivery and patient confidence.

AGREED: 

1)         That the report be received and that Members comments be fed back to the CCG.    

2)         That a further report be submitted to the Commission on the performance of the contract in the future.