A complete service for the provision of Nutrition Supply Services across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, to receive feeds and consumables to hospital sites and a homecare service for patients

The Contracting Authorities Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust and Nottingham Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust intends to award a complete service for the provision of Nutrition Supply Services across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire to receive feeds and consumables to hospital sites and a Homecare Service Contract for a period of 2 years to Nutricia Limited.

Driven by the recent boundary change in terms of Bassetlaw joining Notts ICS there is now a small cohort of additional patients for which only a Homecare Service is provided. Overall, there are a large cohort of Adults and Children who receive the Homecare Service. The contract also provides a nursing support service and enteral feeding pumps.

Nutricia Ltd provides a complete service delivery model that includes a comprehensive nursing support team, supply of enteral feeding pumps, equipment and associated ancillaries and an inclusive servicing and maintenance provision. The service provider will supply and deliver feeds and consumables to each of the Contracting Authorities Hospital Sites and provide an all-encompassing patient homecare delivery service.

A change of provider will definitely require a changeover of feed pumps in all the hospitals and out in the community at service user's homes, which would require hospital clinical oversight and availability of all hospital staff in order to undertake appropriate equipment and product training and that this has been assessed locally as presenting high risk with inadequate mitigations in the timeline.

It is essential that that the Contracting Authorities have a robust exit plan and mobilisation period to ensure there is a sufficient clinical resource and support to safely transfer patients. A change of provider before NHS England have undertaken their review of this category of spend across the National Health Service could disrupt continuity and, would be to the detriment of patient care and the local health system.