The GP partnership at Withnell Health Centre was dissolved in December 2021 which meant the contractual arrangements for running the practice were no longer valid and required actions from commissioners.
The NHS rules governing GP contracts meant the practice therefore had to be put out to procurement. The contract went out to tender, during which ‘any willing provider’ can submit a bid to run the practice. This action was put in place by Chorley and South Ribble Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), as the delegated responsible body by NHS England.
While the process was under way, Dr Robinson, as the sole remaining partner, continued to run the practice under an interim contract to ensure continuity of service and stability.
Prior to the start of the procurement process a survey was issued to some registered patients, asking for feedback on the practice and whether they were satisfied with the range of services provided. Although this helped in part to inform the procurement process, once the procurement process was under way, patients were not informed and were unaware that there was a potential change in the GP provider going forward.
On the 1 July 2022, due to new government legislation, CCGs ceased to exist, and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) was created, taking over responsibility from all eight CCGs in Lancashire and South Cumbria, including Chorley and South Ribble CCG.
An exercise was undertaken by the ICB inviting organisations to submit a tender for providing the service at Withnell Health Centre which were reviewed and scored by a multi professional panel, in line with national best practice. The conclusion of the tender evaluation process in December 2022 recommended that the ICB award the contract to SSP, a provider of GP services at multiple sites across the North West including in Lancs and South Cumbria. There was a great deal of concern from patients at the practice at this point when they learned of the outcome of the process and that Dr Robinson was not the preferred bidder.
This resulted in many patients campaigning and making representations against the decision considered by the ICB. Representations were made to the ICB pointing out that patients had not been informed and engagement had not been sufficient, therefore suggesting the process had not been followed in line with guidance and best practice.
In February 2023, the ICB undertook a detailed review of the procurement exercise and deemed that the patient engagement element was insufficient. The legal requirement remained, however, and the ICB still needs to put a long-term contract arrangement in place. The ICB agreed, as part of the next part of this process, to seek greater involvement from patients at the practice.
The ICB has reviewed how it makes decisions on primary care commissioning and, from June 2023, the Primary Care Commissioning Committee will meet monthly with members of the public able to observe.
The first meeting between a group of patients and the ICB has now taken place. The patient group agreed to work together to agree how they want to coordinate themselves and establish any groups to support the ongoing work and how they will involve the wider patient community of Withnell Health Centre. Further meetings with the ICB will scope what and how patients can influence the process going forward.
