Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member considered the exempt information.

The Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care, and Well-Being considered the report which detailed the outcome of an open tender process and sought agreement from the Cabinet for Health, Social Care and Well-Being to award contracts to successful community pharmacies (detailed in exempt appendix 1) for the provision of one or all of the following; healthy start vitamins; stop smoking service and specific sexual health services as part of the Healthy Living Pharmacy (HLP) programme.

It was proposed that contracts would be awarded for a period of 4 years from 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2026, with an option to extend for a further 4 years.

The Cabinet Member enquired whether the proposed contracts would provide suitable coverage throughout the borough and whether they were flexible enough to adapt to any changes in need or demand. The Public Health Commissioner noted that the contracts would provide suitable coverage and would be flexible. It was explained that there had been significant investment in the Haringey pharmacy programme and that it was the largest pharmacy programme in London. It was also noted that health services were constantly adapting to changing needs and were expected to change following the Covid-19 pandemic. It was highlighted that the contracts had been designed to accommodate changing health needs and service developments.

The Cabinet Member RESOLVED

1.    To agree to award contracts in respect of the provision of pharmacies enhanced services to the successful community pharmacies listed exempt appendix 1, in accordance with Contract Standing Order (CSO) 16.02.

2.    To agree that the contracts will be awarded to the approved pharmacy providers listed in exempt appendix 1 for a period of 4 years from 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2026, with an option to extend for a further period of 4 years. The estimated cost for the provision across all participating pharmacies per year for the initial 4-year term of the contract will be as follows: a) Healthy Start vitamins £10,000 b) stop smoking services £25,000 and c) sexual health services £240,000. The total combined cost across the services over 4 years will be £1,100,000.

Reasons for decision

The council undertook a full open-tender procurement exercise, inviting applications from community pharmacists to provide a suite of public health services.

The process for selecting the preferred community pharmacies was based on the applications achieving the highest score based on quality.

The services to be commissioned will contribute to achieving the outcomes of the borough plan. Contracting pharmacies to provide these services offers additional service choice to residents, whist also targeting services to residents and communities most in need and whilst also helping to reduce pressures on Council budget which would have been directed at more expensive clinical based providers.

Alternative options considered

As part of a rigorous contract and service review exercise, the public health team considered no longer commissioning pharmacies to deliver these services and instead, divert additional resources to other specialist services. The conclusion was that pharmacies offered good quality and easy access to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 115