NHS trust dealt blow after losing £190m contract

Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has run mental health and learning disability services in the Vale of York and some specialist services in North Yorkshire since 2012.

But The Yorkshire Post can reveal it has not been selected as the preferred provider of a new five-year contract tendered by bosses at NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to run services from October.

Trust bosses are challenging the decision which comes in the wake of a critical report into NHS mental health provision in the York area by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

No details of the winner are being released by the CCG which last night said it could not comment until the end of an official “standstill” period. Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust, which runs mental healthcare in other parts of North Yorkshire, referred calls to the CCG.

A message to staff from Leeds and York NHS trust chief executive Chris Butler, seen by The Yorkshire Post, said: “We are, as you can imagine, extremely disappointed. The tender process was very competitive and following careful consideration and deliberation, the trust board has decided to challenge his decision via the channels available to us.

“The board and I fully appreciate this is a time of great anxeity and something that is very distracting indeed but I know you are all highly professional and dedicated individuals and will ensure that quality of care will not suffer as a result of this process.”

In January, the CQC said the 240-year-old Bootham Park Hospital in York was “not fit for purpose”. It described services in the city as “historically underfunded”, raising concerns about their safety and quality. Inspectors also pointed to tensions between trust and the CCG.

NHS chiefs are drawing up plans for major changes including closing Bootham Park and the city’s Lime Trees unit for children and young people. It remains unclear how the new contract will affect the changes or how it will impact on hundreds of staff.