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We have been the firm of choice for NHS clients for more than 30 years. As well as acting extensively for secondary and acute care clients, we have acted for health commissioners throughout various transformations of the NHS over the years, including PCTs, SHAs, NHSE, CCGs and are now heavily involved in commissioning and procurement in Integrated Care Systems. As these clients contend with increasing demands, challenging budgets and pressure to change the way in which they deliver services, we work alongside them with clear and commercial advice.
We have supported numerous health communities on health system redesign over recent years as the pressure to improve standards in the light of emerging evidence of new techniques and standards, and the need to manage under tight financial pressure has led to many proposals to change the way health and social care services are organised.
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We have wide experience of treading uncharted territory and have advised on hundreds of complex procurements using Competitive Dialogue, Competitive Procedure with Negotiation and Dynamic Purchasing Systems, as well as through frameworks and restricted procedures. We are now supporting clients to use the flexibilities under the Procurement Act 2023 to design multi-stage processes and frameworks which meet their needs. We established the first NHS LIFTs and have unparalleled experience in advising on Strategic Estates Partnership procurements in the health market. Our collaborative working experience is unrivalled both across health and local government.
We can guide our NHS clients through the different regulations and statutory guidance applicable when procuring health care services, including undertaking a provider selection process or modification of a contract under The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. We can also assist with responding to representations from providers under the Provider Selection Regime, navigating the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel review process and assessing the risk of challenge arising from judicial review.
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Primary care commissioning
Working closely with our NHS governance team, we have supported a number of different Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in making changes to primary care service contracts in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 including advising on the relevant guidance and the interface with the Regulations. Examples include supporting with a wholesale change to the primary care service model to include certain enhanced primary care services, advising on the implication of practice mergers and assisting ICBs to manage partnership dissolution and succession processes.
Reform to strategic commissioning
Under current plans to reform the NHS the role of ICBs is shifting to focus on strategic commissioning and they are under significant pressure to reduce running costs by 50%. ICBs are therefore having to consider the changes which can be made to how services are provided and whether certain services and functions can be transferred to other bodies. There are a number of governance, commercial, procurement and employment law risks and complexities for the ICBs to navigate in making these decisions.
We have been working with a number of ICBs to provide advice on the procurement law considerations associated with transferring services including considering the relevant procurement regimes, the procurement options and the considerations for structuring particular arrangements.
Watch our on-demand ICB reconfiguration webinar, where Anna Davies, Laura Brealey and Lee Carroll explore the restructuring of ICBs and their future role as NHS commissioners.
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