NHS Southport and Formby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is pleased to announce that from May 2017 Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust will be the new provider of community services for its residents.

The NHS organisation demonstrated that it was able to provide higher levels of quality compared to the other bidders in a rigorous re-procurement process.

Dr Rob Caudwell, chair of NHS Southport and Formby CCG, said: “After their GP, community services are often the most commonly used healthcare that our residents will come into contact with, which is why this process has been so important in helping us select the right organisation to manage these services in the future.

Rob said: “Lancashire Care offered the highest levels of quality for our patients and over the next six months they will be working with the current provider to ensure that when they take over in May 2017, it’s as smooth and seamless a transfer as possible for patients and community service staff alike.

“As this change is about the management of these services and not about direct care, we do not expect patients to notice any difference to the community services they use or to the staff who provide them.”

Across the NHS, commissioners have contracts with organisations like community health trusts and hospitals, which set out standards for the services they provide. Commissioners also have a legal duty to carry out re-procurement exercises for these contracts from time to time. This importantly ensures that healthcare constantly meets expected levels of quality and that it continues to represent best value.

Rob added: “We already know from speaking to residents over the past couple of years and ahead of this re-procurement that they want more of their care provided closer to home and for all the services they use to work better together.

“These views have informed our Shaping Sefton vision for all future healthcare, where services are more joined up and therefore more effective in meeting our local needs. We call this vision community centred health and care, with patients, GP practices and community services at its heart, and our new provider will be working towards this.” 

Chief operating officer for Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust, Sue Moore, said: “Alongside our partners, we are absolutely delighted to have been selected as the provider of community services for the Southport and Formby area. It is our intention to work with established partners within the locality to continue to deliver high quality community services for local people and to support their health and wellbeing. We are very excited about the opportunity to provide services in this area and to building on the positive relationships that have been established with local GPs, the third sector and Southport & Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust who will be key players in our future models of care.”    

Find out more about the community services re-procurement, including a list of frequently asked questions.

You can also read more about Shaping Sefton, along with the CCG’s 5 year strategy and blueprint for transforming services which underpin the programme.