Decision details

The impact of covid-19 has highlighted a number of health inequalities across England as referenced in the Build Back Fairer Covid-19 Marmot review (2021) and has also exacerbated the obesity rates in our borough. As part of PHE’s national recovery plan for obesity, local authorities have been allocated funding to provide services to support the obesity recovery including the funds to support Tier 2 weight management services . As we de-commissioned our Tier 2 weight management service for adults in 2016 we are proposing to use the funds to set up a community based pilot using an existing weight management provider and in-house teams to develop a service for those individuals with a BMI > 30 until 31st March 2022 due to the tight timescale and covid-19 implications. The decision was made not to tender due to the timescale and the fact that we want to join up our current Tier 3 /Tier 4 weight management services to extend the weight management offer , to keep it local and also to use it as a pilot to test potential demand and uptake.

Details of the proposed service are available on request and the programme (Be Well, Feel Good) will be live in autumn 2021. Referrals into the service will be via primary care and self -referral. A communications plan will be developed prior to mobilisation by the provider.

A Rule 16 Urgent Decision was approved on 23rd April 2021 by Mayor Ros Jones to accept the grant allocation from Public Health England (PHE) for £329, 546 for the commissioning of a new Tier 2 weight management service (adults) as part of the covid-19 recovery planning. £255k will be allocated to the commissioning of the service and the remainder £74,546 will be used in house to recruit a Be well coach post to support the programme and infrastructure and provide a food education/peer support element as part of the food poverty work.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND REJECTED

A number of options were considered in view of the tight timescale and the fact we don’t not have a Tier 2 service currently:

a. Approach current weight management services provider of Tier 3 and Tier 4 weight management services and discuss options of an extension to the service – considered, discussed and agreed this is the preferred option
b. Approach other potential providers – rejected as would go to tender if not option a
c. Go out to procurement – rejected due to timescale and discussions with procurement and legal about feasibility; agreement that need to link up services with existing provider
d. Take up the offer of a dynamic purchasing system from PHE – rejected as only just set up in July and not been accessible; would be national suppliers and not familiar with
local model and infrastructure. Procurement/legal advice was to explore option a and option c if not feasible. The dynamic purchasing system was the last option.