Personalised Pathways to Healthy Weight

NHS Dorset ICB, along with partners Health Innovation Wessex and Bournemouth University, would like to invite potential partners, providers and innovators to a soft market engagement conversation, with an opportunity to co-design personalised pathways to healthy weight for underserved populations in Dorset.

This work builds on NHS Dorset's commitment to reducing childhood obesity by 2040 (Outcome 2 - NHS Dorset https://nhsdorset.nhs.uk/voice/jointforwardplan/outcome-2/) and improving access, experience and outcomes for people living with unhealthy weight and obesity, most recently supporting access to medicated and non-medicated pathways for adults in line with the NICE Technology Appraisal NG246 (Weight management - NHS Dorset https://nhsdorset.nhs.uk/health/medicines/weight/)

Our aim is to further transform weight management services in Dorset, by developing and testing an inclusive, community-based model that addresses the persistent inequalities in access, experience and outcomes for underserved populations and tackles the underlying causes of obesity.

Our objectives are to:

• Co-produce and test innovative models of care that integrate pharmacological, digital, and behavioural approaches for healthy weight.

• Reduce health inequalities by improving access to care for underserved populations, including for people with experience of the care system; people with learning disabilities; people with special educational needs and disabilities; and mental health service users.

• Build capacity within our workforce and communities to support sustained healthy lifestyles and self-management.

• Embed a whole-system, data-driven approach to tackling obesity as a major driver of long-term conditions

• Enable real-world evaluation and learning that can inform national policy and future service commissioning.

The Dorset Model proposes to:

• Recruit participants to the programme by pro-actively case finding through our Dorset Insight and Intelligence Service (DiiS) and through trusted people and places, making every contact count.

• Offer a personalised multi-disciplinary team conversation, which recognises the lived experience of participants, and provides a tailored care plan, with support from a lead professional or coach.

• Deliver personalised pathways to health weight through evidence-informed and co-produced interventions. This might include; in-person groups, remote groups, digital technologies (platforms/wearables), pharmacological and in-service pathways, for individuals, families and carers, and communities.

• Integrate new care pathways and interventions with existing system weight management services, to support both sustainable healthy weight on discharge for individuals and better access to standard care for family, carer, and community members.

• Build knowledge, skills and confidence in our health, social care and VCSE workforce, including paid and unpaid roles.

NHS Dorset anticipates procuring suitably qualified provider(s) to:

(1) A Prime Provider to act as System Integrator for the Programme, who may choose to deliver some or all elements of the new service(s).

(2) Organisation(s) to deliver new services, including digital, behavioural, lifestyle and health improvement, with individuals, families, carers and communities.

(3) Organisation(s) to deliver workforce development.