Bristol mental health contract out to tender

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust must compete against four other bidders to keep its community services contract in Bristol.

The contract for the £15m a year service has been put out to tender because GPs were unhappy with the treatment of their patients.

Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group wants "a more responsive service".

But AWP's new chief executive Iain Tulley said he believed it could meet the commissioner's needs.

The result of the tendering process will not be known until the new year.

AWP is up against both NHS and private organisations.

'Not a competition'

Points West Health Correspondent Matthew Hill said of AWP: "Although under new leadership now - it seems to be turning itself around - in the past it was not meeting targets.

"A report said that it was top heavy with management not listening to what clinicians were saying.

"That's why they've become one of the first of the mental health trusts in the country to put this out to tender."

Dr David Soodeen, from Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group, said: "What we'd like is a more responsive service that meets the population of Bristol's needs.

"We have a large provider that focuses on a large area, when what we actually want is a service that looks at Bristol and Bristol's needs."

Mr Tulley said: "I happen to believe that the partnership we've set up in Bristol, of local organisations working with a local trust, will see the day through and will provide the best possible solution and will meet the commissioner's needs."