Newcastle City Council would like to consult on a proposal to work with the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB). The proposal is to commission a children's occupational therapy (OT) service. The occupational therapy service would join together the community OT team and the OT adaptations team.
The Council and the ICB have an agreement in place under Section 75 of the National Health Service (NHS) Act 2006. This agreement allows the joint commissioning of speech and language services within Newcastle. The agreement was designed so that it could be varied to include other therapies at a later date. The proposal we are consulting on is to include occupational therapies in the existing Section 75 agreement. This variation is permitted within the terms of the current agreement.
This would be done under regulation 8 of the NHS Act 2006. Statutory (legal duty) responsibility for the service would remain with the Council. This is because Newcastle City Council is the welfare authority. This would mean that the Council would delegate the budget and the following responsibilities to the ICB:
Responsibility for completing OT assessments if a child needs specialist equipment at home or needs an adaptation to their home.
Responsibility for letting health or housing know when their services might be needed after an OT assessment.
The agreement would allow the Council and the ICB to put their budgets together. This would mean that we would be able to jointly commission (buy) a joint OT service. The ICB would be the lead commissioner.
We think that this would benefit children, young people, and families. It would mean a more consistent approach. It would also give a better understanding of the children and young people. It would reduce the number of services a child would need to use for OT. It should also reduce waiting times.
The purpose of this consultation is to:
Understand what this could mean for young people with specialist adaptation needs and their families.
Know what this could mean for providers and services in both OT adaptations and community OT pathways.
Has the Council looked at all the important issues? Or are there more things we should consider?
If you have any questions about the consultation or would like the document in a different format such as large print please e-mail linzi.mcmeekin@newcastle.gov.uk.
Alternatively, you can write to:
Linzi McMeekin
Commissioning Programme Lead (Education and Early Help)
Newcastle City Council
4th Floor, Civic Centre
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8QH
