Award of Children's Integrated Therapy and Equipment Service Contract to Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

About

South of England Procurement Services awarded a contract to Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust for the provision of Children's Integrated Therapy and Equipment Service (CITES) for children and young people aged 0-19 registered with an East Sussex GP.

The service integrates speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and the prescribing of children's equipment and orthotic requirements.

It operates through a team approach, with each team comprising therapists and therapy assistants across all three disciplines plus administrative support, delivering therapy services across East Sussex to children with complex disability, neurodevelopmental, and musculoskeletal conditions.

Services are offered in a range of venues, with clinics situated to ensure equity and ease of access within each commissioner locality.

Each child is assigned a named therapist who uses professional judgement to determine the appropriate pathway and liaises with parents and early years/school/Children's Services staff.

The contract has a primary term of 3 years with an option to extend for up to a further 24 months at the Authority's discretion, and the stated value of £13,693,260 covers the 3-year period.

The procurement falls within the Particular Procurement Regime for social and other specific services under Chapter 3 Section 7 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.