Community Care Echocardiography Services

The scope of Community Echocardiography Services for the Procurement has been developed by Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group based on the needs of the Commissioning Organisation and the patients of Mid Essex. Mid Essex CCG continues to require a community echocardiography service with staff qualified to appropriate levels of skill and experience. The service provider will be required to book, provide and report on around 1,600 - 1,800 echocardiography scans annually. The provider will be responsible for sourcing suitable premises to allow services at a number of locations within Mid Essex allowing for ease of access and providing convenient hours for patients. The services will be contracted based on the 2016/17 Standard NHS Contract for a period of 3 years with the option for extension for 1 year by mutual agreement. The key objectives of the Service are: • To provide a community transthoracic echocardiography service for patients registered at Mid Essex CCG GP practices. • To provide an appointment management system offering patients a choice of venues to suit their times and needs. • To provide an accessible, patient centred service that delivers rapid access to diagnostics of cardiac symptoms in a setting closer to home. • To link echocardiography services in primary care with secondary care so that, where appropriate and necessary, individual patients can move seamlessly between providers without bureaucracy or delay and avoiding the need for duplicate tests • To provide reporting that will enable GPs to better manage their patients in primary care • To reduce demand and waiting times for secondary care echocardiography services, to assist in the achievement of the 6 week diagnostic pathway • To support Mid Essex CCG to meet the NSF and NICE guidelines for coronary heart disease