Plymouth City Council has a statutory obligation under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and the Local Authorities (Public Health Function and Entry to Premises by Local Healthwatch Representatives) Regulations 2013 to provide confidential, open access sexual health services for the population of Plymouth. This includes the provision of comprehensive contraception, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, sexual health promotion and HIV prevention services. These services must be commissioned from the ring fenced public health grant.



The purpose of this decision is to directly award a new contract for Integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health services to the existing provider of services, University Hospitals Plymouth, with the aim of commencing by 1st April 2024, to continue for a period of up to 8 years (3+3+2).



This decision is made in accordance with the new Provider Selection Regime as per The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (the Regulations)2 which have been designed to give the more flexibility in selecting providers for health care services, including sexual health services.

Councillor Aspinall (Cabinet Member for Health and Adult Social Care) introduced the item and highlighted the following points:

a)     The report set out the decision to directly award a new contract for Integrated Sexual and Reproductive Health Services to the existing provider of the services;

b)    The contract would enable University Hospital Plymouth, The Zone and The Eddystone to continue the work they had started in 2017, to collaborate and provide an integrated sexual and reproductive health service;

c)     The full range of service offered included sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing and treatment, online services, self-sampling kits, contraception advice, free condoms for under 25s and outreach settings in other settings for young people;

d)    The overall aim for the service model was to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes for the population of Plymouth, focusing on young people;

e)     The service model was characterised by the following: a clear focus on prevention and self-management, improving accessibilities to make sure that services were delivered in the most appropriate setting, an integrated Front Door with a central telephone number, online advice, information and appointment bookings, there would be optimisation of new technologies and treatments and a focus on cost effectiveness;

f)      The Partnership would agree to work for up to eight years, providing consistency and insurance for the health system and the young people of Plymouth.

Kamal Patel (Public Health Specialty Registrar) added:
         

g)     Although the working together of University Hospitals Plymouth, The Zone and The Eddystone was not a formal ‘alliance’ contract, it was a great example of collaboration in Plymouth which delivered a fully integrated service.

The Cabinet agreed to the following recommendation:

1. That a new contract for Integrates Sexual and Reproductive Health Services (as detailed in the report) was awarded to University Hospitals Plymouth as lead provider of the SHiP partnership.