Purpose

This report concerns the award of tender for a
local Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service for Brent
residents.

Content

To approve the award of a contract for the
provision of an Independent Health Complaints Advocacy Service to
POhWER. The contract term will be for an initial period of two
years with the option to extend for up to two years on a 2+1+1
basis. The contract value is capped at £60k per year for up
to 4 years.

Reasons for the decision

The Health and Social
Care Act 2012 transferred the responsibility of commissioning NHS
Complaints Advocacy services from Central Government to Local
Government to ensure the service delivery meets the legal
requirements as described in the Health and Social Care Act 2014
and any future regulations.
 
The Brent Independent
Health Complaint Advocacy Service (IHCAS) empowers and supports
clients, their family, carer or representative to go through the
complaints procedures for complaint or grievance related to any
aspect of care or treatment they received from NHS funded services
and to assist them in finding a resolution.
 
Provision of an
independent health complaints advocacy to local residents is a key
public service, therefore access to high quality an independent
complaints advocacy service without interruption is vital to
enabling early resolution of potential problems that, without
intervention, may lead to complex and distressing circumstances for
residents.
 
The Council requires the provision of a
contract for IHCAS to commence on 1st June 2023.

Alternative options considered

The recommended award of contract has been
based on a procurement process conducted in accordance with the
Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the Regulations) and has been
based on a detailed evaluation criteria and process.