An integrated care board broke commissioning regulations when trying to secure a contract for a system-wide mental health service, according to the independent oversight panel.
Mid and South Essex ICB announced in May that it was awarding a contract to run core mental health services across its patch to Vita Health, a private provider that already operates some services in the health system.
However, the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel has found the award broke commissioning rules in several different ways.
It has told the ICB it should publish a new contract notice and tender documents that address the issues identified by the panel.
If it cannot republish these documents without changing the key criteria or service specifications of the contract then it will have to abandon the whole process and start again, the panel warned.
MSE’s new mental health contract was set to run for three years with an option to extend for two more, and is worth £92.5m over the maximum timescale.
Daste: 5 October