A five year £800million contract has been awarded to a consortium tasked with improving older people’s healthcare and adult community services across Cambridgeshire.

UnitingCare Partnership, a consortium of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust with Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, will provide adult community health services and hold the budget for a host of services.

They will be responsible for urgent care and mental health services for people aged over 65.

In addition, they will provide community health services for over 18s such as district nursing, rehabilitation and therapy after injury or illness, speech and language therapy, care for patients with complex wounds and support for people with respiratory disease or diabetes.

UnitingCare Partnership will spend nearly six months preparing and putting everything in place to be able to start delivering services on April 1, 2015.

The chief clinical officer for the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group, Dr Neil Modha said: “The aim is to have a single lead provider responsible for older people’s healthcare services and adult community health services, ensuring that care is more joined up than it has been, with a focus on improving the patient experience.

“The design and procurement process has allowed people from a range of organisations to come together, develop and propose solutions to some of the service problems that have challenged us for many years.

“I would like to extend the CCG’s thanks to all those that have contributed to this process to date, including patients, clinicians and local authority colleagues.”

In a joint statement Uniting Care Partnership’s Aidan Thomas and Dr Keith McNeil said: “We are delighted that our NHS-led consortium, UnitingCare Partnership, has been appointed preferred bidder for the provision of older people’s healthcare and adult community services.

“We look forward to further discussions with the CCG to reach agreement on a formal contract that will enable us to begin to deliver the vital improvements to care for older people.”