NHS Commissioners in Kent, Medway and Sussex have today, (7
August 2019), announced that South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS
Foundation Trust (SECAmb) has been awarded a contract to provide
the new NHS111 Clinical Assessment Service (CAS) for five years
from April 2020. 

SECAmb will act as lead provider with Integrated Care 24 (IC24)
working in partnership to deliver key elements of the new
service.  

The contract, worth £18.1million in 2020/21, includes being able
to issue prescriptions, and have access over the phone to a wider
range of Health Care Professionals  such as GPs, Paramedics,
Nurses and Pharmacists, who will be able to directly book people
into urgent care appointments, if they need one.

Commissioners across Kent, Medway and Sussex have worked
together to commission an integrated NHS111 telephony and Clinical
Assessment Service (CAS) that meets patients’ health care needs on
their first call, including a consultation with a doctor or nurse
where it is needed.

NHS111 Clinical Lead for Sussex, Dr Victoria Beattie said:
“NHS111 will be pivotal in ensuring patients get access to the
right care, at the right time and place for their symptoms. The new
Clinical Assessment Service will mean patients can talk to a doctor
or health care professional sooner, giving patients real confidence
in the care they will receive.” 

The contract award follows a six-month procurement process
undertaken on behalf of the Sussex, Kent and Medway 15 Clinical
Commissioning Groups (CCGs).  

Senior Responsible Officer for NHS111 in Kent and Medway, Stuart
Jeffery added: “Following a robust procurement process, we are
confident that by working with the ambulance service and their
partners IC24, we will be in a good position to build the
foundations for integrating urgent care across our regions.”

Both SECAmb and IC24 have put in place the foundations of
enhancing NHS111 and a Clinical Assessment Service that more
closely integrates with 999 and existing out-of-hours care. 
Working together, the organisations are developing a local CAS,
which can support both emergency and urgent primary care. A joint
clinical and operations leadership team will collectively drive
standards.

SECAmb and IC24 will continue to develop their workforces and
will offer exciting roles, which span across both emergency and
urgent care services.

SECAmb Acting Chief Executive, Dr Fionna Moore said: “The
relationship between 999 and NHS111 is crucial and the first point
of contact for hundreds of thousands of patients across our region
each year. I am delighted that SECAmb and IC24 have successfully
bid to provide this enhanced service to people across the region. I
would like to thank everyone involved in achieving this and look
forward to seeing the expected benefits of this partnership
realised.”

Yvonne Taylor, Chief Executive of Integrated Care 24 said: “We
are excited to be working in partnership with SECAmb to deliver
integrated urgent care services across Kent, Medway and
Sussex. 

“We are both experienced providers of NHS111 services and we are
looking forward to developing the service and our partnership over
the coming months and years. Working together will bring additional
capacity and resilience to the service as we have the capability to
deliver it across multiple sites and ensure our patients have
access to the best possible care when they need us. 

“We already have experience of delivering a Clinical Assessment
Service in other parts of the country and we will develop a joint
clinical and operational leadership team to collectively drive
standards and quality of urgent care.”