Issue - meetings

Report of the Director of Public Health

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Public Health which provided details of the key findings of the Adult Substance Misuse Contract review.

Decision Made:

The contract of Lifeline to provide Adult Substance Misuse services in Sefton be extended for an additional 12 months until 30September 2016.

Reasons for Decision:

Since taking over the contract 18 months ago the provider had addressed underperformance. Further time was required to see the full benefits of changes in the service model.

The current contract expired at the end of September 2015. Adecision must be made by the end of March 2015 at the latest on whether the contract should be extended or retendered. This would provide Lifeline with the minimum 6 months notice period.

The contract was originally awarded for 2 years with the option to extend annually up to 3 years. This was therefore an extension within the existing contract.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

Extend contract for a longer time period. - A longer extension would require measurable improvements over the next 12 months.

Retender. - The current provider had only been in place for 18 months and changing providers in such a short time was likely to cause disruption to the care of clients and confusion within the network of substance misuse partners, i.e. primary care, acute services, residential rehabilitation and detoxification agencies.