What will be the next step for East Staffordshire CCG commissioners?
Virgin Care has terminated the commissioning elements of its £270m prime provider contract with East Staffordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) following a dispute.
The provider handed the CCG termination notices for services for which it is not the direct provider in late September, the Health Service Journal has reported. These services include hospital-based services, 111 and out-of-hours services.
At an earlier stage, the company is said to have asked for an extra payment of £5m.
The fixed price, seven-year, prime provider contract for community services was signed in 2015. Virgin Care took on the responsibility for the commissioning and integration of services for frail elderly patients and people with long-term conditions.
Services provided directly by Virgin Care and which remain part of the contract include community nursing, specialist nursing, care co-ordination and care navigation.
An East Staffordshire CCG spokesperson said that from May or June 2019, East Staffordshire CCG will enter into direct contracts for the services previously commissioned by Virgin Care.