ITQ Initial Health Assessment Services for Looked After Children

Doncaster CCG wishes to invite expressions of interest for the initial health assessment service for Looked After Children.

A quotation process will follow.

The objectives of the service are as follows: • To promote the health and wellbeing of LAC. • To provide a comprehensive and timely holistic initial health assessment. • To provide a typed report in time for the first LAC review meeting (20 working days after becoming looked after). • Liaise closely with the child's GP to ensure that any necessary referrals resulting from the IHA are actioned. • To share information enabling the lead health professional to provide on-going health contribution to promote individual children and young people's health, in conjunction with the Specialist Nurse LAC Team and other agencies. • To arrange special testing for the LAC if history and/or examination indicated need for test(s).

The term initial health assessment refers to the holistic health assessment that should be statutorily provided to children and young people on entering care.

A registered medical practitioner, in accordance with the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010, should undertake this first assessment .

The doctor should be experienced in paediatrics, if possible at a senior level, and experienced in development assessment (including adolescent development).

The doctor should have information available on child antenatal, birth and postnatal history Information on child's own health and on family history of genetic illness and need for screening should be obtained from child's record, which is kept at their primary GP.

The IHA must be conducted within 20 working days of the child becoming Looked After, usually before the child is first placed, or if that is not reasonably practicable, before the first Looked After Review Meeting, which also takes place within 20 working days of the child entering care.

Expressions of interest should be sent to donccg.healthcareprocurement@nhs.net by 5pm on the 4th December 2019.

All providers expressing an interest will be invited to quote using the eProcurement portal www.nhssourcing.co.uk