Wiltlshire Clinical Commissioning Group has agreed to extend its contract with the Great Western Hospital, Swindon, to provide adult community health services for another year.
The contract was due to expire in April 2015 and the CCG would have had to start the re-tendering process in January.
But officers said a 12 month extension to the existing contract would give them time to bring a comprehensive specification for a new contract and allow changes being made to community health services, such as the recent introduction of care co-ordinators, to be assessed.
The CCG took legal advice as there is a risk that a challenge could be made by other health providers unhappy that the contract would not be re-tendered to the original timescale.
The CCG’s governing body agreed at a meeting on Tuesday to extend the current contract with GWH until April 2016.
The extension does not affect maternity services which are currently being re-tendered and children’s community services which will be procured next year.
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