Procurement of Occupational Health Services ‘Meet the Buyer’ 9 th December 2015

Introduction and welcome The three councils Meet the teams The current situation The occupational health tender process The contract Some statistics Questions

In brief …. Warrington Borough Council / Cheshire East Council and Cheshire West Council are undertaking a joint procurement exercise for the provision of occupational health services Cheshire East and Cheshire West will start their contracts on 1 st September 2016 and Warrington will start on 1st April 2017 Warrington currently have an external occupational health supplier Cheshire East and Cheshire West have an in-house shared service

Occupational health is currently provided by RPS Contract is from 1 st April 2013 – 31 st March 2016 (with an option to extend for a further 12 months until 31 st March 2017). This option has been taken Use RPS’ premises at Birchwood Park, Warrington Warrington’s Deputy Head of HR (Julie Holt) manages the contract Current Position in Warrington …

An in-house shared service with Cheshire West and Chester since 1 st April 2009 (previously in-house as Cheshire County Council) Has their own premises at Sandbach, Macclesfield and Crewe where clinics are run Directly employs some of the OHU staff The Health and Safety Manager (Bronwen MacArthur-Williams) has the ‘client’ liaison and monitoring role for Cheshire East Council Costs are split equally with Cheshire West Council Current Position in Cheshire East …

An in-house shared service with Cheshire East Council since 1 st April 2009 (previously in-house as Cheshire County Council) Has their own premises at Chester where clinics are run and the admin team is based Directly employs some of the OHU staff The Health and Safety Manager (Eric Burt) has overall management responsibility for the Occupational Health Unit Costs are split equally with Cheshire East Council Current Position in Cheshire West …

All three councils manage the provision of occupational health to schools and academies in their area Cheshire East / Cheshire West’s in-house Occupational Health Unit sells occupational health services to a small number of external customers Cheshire East and Cheshire West have an employee assistance programme (This is not a requirement of the contractor as it is separate from occupational health) All three councils have broadly similar requirements for occupational health provision Currently …

The Occupational Health Unit - OHU A shared service between Cheshire East and Cheshire West councils Staff are employed by either Cheshire East or Cheshire West Based in Chester (but has clinics in Sandbach and Macclesfield) Has contacts with 2 x Occupational Health Physicians. One based in Chester and one based in Sandbach Use self-employed counsellors to provide additional counselling for employees

The Occupational Health Unit – OHU Staffing structure Health and Safety Manager (Cheshire West) OHU Manager Admin team x 5Occupational Health Advisers x 4 Health and Safety Manager (Cheshire East) Occupational Health Physicians x 2 liaison (25% spent on Occ. Health so not in TUPE list) 2 x Cheshire East 2 x Cheshire West Counsellors (Self-employed)

Provision of occupational health services to: Corporate staff Corporate staff Schools Academies Academies Catalyst Social Enterprise (adult social care provision) Livewire Leisure and Libraries Community Interest Company (CIC) Livewire Leisure and Libraries Community Interest Company (CIC)

Provision of occupational health services to: Corporate staff Schools Academies Arms-length organisations ANSA ORBITAS ESAR TSSL Civicance

Provision of occupational health services to: Corporate staff Schools Academies Arms-length organisations VIVO BRIO Edsential Qwest (Joint Venture)

Core services Pre-employment screening service Occupational health assessments/ management referrals Counselling Health Surveillance Services Hearing tests VDU eyesight screening HGV licence medical HAVs assessments Audiometry Optional Services Workplace assessments Physiotherapy Drug and alcohol testing Vaccinations Workplace well-being initiatives Telephone helpline service

Usage statistics 2014 / 15 Management Referrals Health Surveillance / medicals Counselling sessions Ill-health retirement Pre-employment appointments Warrington (Included in management referrals) 48 Cheshire East Cheshire West

Expenditure 2014 / 15 Warrington£ Cheshire East£ Cheshire West£

Issue of Invitation to Tender (ITT) – early February 2016 ITT closing date March 2016 (min 30 days) Evaluation Clarification / moderation meetings Award – May 2016 Contract start Cheshire East and Cheshire West – 1 st September 2016 Contract start Warrington – 1 st April 2017 Procurement Timescale

Invitation to Tender (ITT) – Open – Specification – Pricing schedule – Terms and Conditions – TUPE information – Fair, open and transparent – Provides a legal contract The Tender Process

Ensure you are registered on The Chest Registration is FREE Web based, log in from anywhere Notification via when tenders are published Question and Answer forum Warnings if an tenders are about to close Paperless = no post costs or printing costs Valid audit process NOTE: REGISTERING ON THE CHEST IS NOT A GUARANTEE OF WORK The Chest

Do Not … Miss out mandatory questions without an explanation Include irrelevant marketing material as this will not be taken into account Change the format of pricing schedules or important documents without prior consent Forget to submit evidence to support your claims Leave submission until the last minute Rely on previous experience with the Council(s) Upload scanned documents without checking we can read them Common Pitfalls …

Do … Read the questions thoroughly and answer only what the question asks Pay attention to score distribution, emphasis will be on the highest weighting Seek clarification through the Chest Q&A facility Adhere to word limits Label any appendices with the question it relates to Repeat answers if required for multiple questions Return submissions within plenty of time Check your submission once you have uploaded it Common Pitfalls …

Any Questions ?