A health watchdog contract is due for retendering having been extended twice – most recently to maintain stability during the coronavirus pandemic.
Councillors are due to decide whether to stick with the current contractor, Healthwatch Brighton and Hove Community Interest Company (CIC), or whether to ask them to pitch against potential rivals.
Brighton and Hove City Council is required by law to have a Healthwatch service – to gather and champion the views of patients and those using health and social care services and to identify areas for improvement.
The council’s new Adult Social Care and Public Health Sub-Committee is due to decide how to proceed at its first meeting on Tuesday (8 June).
Two contract extensions have been granted for a total of three years, with the current contract due to expire at the end of next March.
And the sub-committee, chaired by Green councillor Sarah Nield, could agree a further three-year deal, likely to be worth about £180,000 a year.
But officials have recommended that the council invites potential contractors – including the current provider – to express their interest in running the service.
The new contract would be for three years, with the potential to extend it for a further two years.
A report to the sub-committee said: “The current service provider, Healthwatch Brighton and Hove CIC, has a good reputation in the city, performs well through the contract management reporting and is well regarded by Healthwatch England.
“It is expected that this provider will express an interest in the new contract.”
Healthwatch Brighton and Hove recently worked with Healthwatch England to highlight a crisis in dentistry.
Last month, a Healthwatch report revealed that a 72-year-old woman had suffered from infections in her back teeth for two years but could not find an NHS dentist to treat her.
In the past year, Healthwatch Brighton and Hove has reviewed 72 services, published 32 reports and engaged with 7,224 people in its reviews.
The Adult Social Care and Public Health Sub-Committee is due to meet at 4pm on Tuesday (8 June) at Hove Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.
