News / NHS
Concerns as private physiotherapy firm awarded Bristol’s mental health services contract
Campaigners fear awarding an £86million mental health services contract to an “inexperienced” private firm could spell disaster.
Save Our NHS campaigner Shaun Murphy claimed the London-based Physiotherapy Solutions Ltd – which trades as Vita Health – had no record of providing talking therapies, or of operating in the West of England.
Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire clinical commissioning group (BNSSG CCG) chief executive Julia Ross defended the decision, describing the firm as the best bidder and the procurement process as “robust”.
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Speaking at Tuesday’s CCG governing body meeting, Murphy said: “A company which provides physiotherapy is being given a contract to run a key mental health service.
“It has no record of operating in the Bristol area.
“I would ask members to consider whether this governing body wants to go ahead with this potentially disastrous decision.”
In response, Ross said: “We’ve been going through a process to commission IAPT (improving access to psychological therapies). We’ve had extensive public and patient engagement and it’s been advertised.
“It’s been going on for some time from the development of the specification.”
Julia Ross, chief executive of the CCG, says the procurement process was robust
Ross said the governing body had reviewed the decision and the process had been robust, adding: “We have to go with the best bidder and that’s what we’ve done.”
The IAPT service helps people deal with depression, stress, anxiety and a wide range of other common psychological and emotional issues.
The contract is currently provided by 17 different organisations but the CCG’s website says it has been working since July 2017 to commission a single service to work across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
One of the existing providers is Downend-based Oasis-Talk. Vicki Palmer, its chief executive, said in a statement: “This decision is likely to cause chaos and/or depletion in local mental health services and puts at risk the 20,000 people a year who need well coordinated, clinically effective services to meet the growing mental health needs.
“Local knowledge and proven clinical expertise, with proven above average recovery rates, are essential to meeting the varied mental health needs of our diverse rural and city populations in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, which include 149 ethnic groups, refugees, asylum seekers, homelessness, and at least 15 other specialist areas of provision.
“It will take several years and additional resources for an unknown, unproven organisation to reach the same level of local knowledge and expertise that currently exist in Bristol and surrounding areas.”
The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust (AWP) also lost out.
Chief operating officer Mathew Page said: “While we are disappointed not to be selected as the new provider, our priority is for service users to continue to receive high quality care and that we support them and our staff during this time of change
“We will be working closely with BNSSG CCG and the new provider between now and the new contract start date.
“AWP has well established processes for this type of change, we will be following national best practice to ensure that we will be handing over a safe and clinically effective service.”
BNSSG CCG said Vita Health will offer an “innovative new service for local people, working with service partners Bluebell Care Trust and Windmill Hill City Farm, and other providers in the local authority and voluntary and community sectors”.
It also has the IAPT contract in Essex. The firm’s website says its psychological team are all qualified and accredited with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Dr Martin Jones, the CCG’s clinical lead for primary care, said in a statement that the appointment was a “really positive development” and Vita Health has an “excellent track record”.
He said it will focus on the causes as well as the symptoms of mental ill health.
Vita Health Group chief executive Derrick Farrell said his firm is a leading independent provider of mental and physical health services and it wants to make a real difference by “delivering the right mental health care, in the right place and at the right time.”
The new service is due to start on September 1.
Stephen Sumner is a local democracy reporter for Bristol.
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