econtract System User Guide

NHS Standard Contract econtract System User Guide

NHS England INFORMATION READER BOX Directorate Medical Operations and Information Specialised Commissioning Nursing Trans. & Corp. Ops. Strategy & Innovation Finance Publications Gateway Reference: 06144 Document Purpose Guidance Document Name Author Publication Date Target Audience NHS Standard Contract econtract system User Guide NHS England / NHS Standard Contract team January 2018 #VALUE! Additional Circulation List CCG Clinical Leaders, CCG Accountable Officers, CSU Managing Directors, Care Trust CEs, Foundation Trust CEs, Local Authority CEs, Parties to NHS Standard Contract (commissioners and providers), NHS England Regional Directors, Directors of Finance, NHS Trust CEs Description This user Guide is a step by step guide to using the NHS Standard Contract econtract system, which hosts both the full-length and shorterform Contracts. The system allows the contract content to be tailored to reflect the services being provided (producing shorter, more relevant contracts), and is for use by commissioners and providers. Cross Reference Superseded Docs (if applicable) Action Required Timing / Deadlines (if applicable) Contact Details for further information NHS Standard Contract https://www.england.nhs.uk/nhs-standardcontract/ NHS Standard Contract econtract system User Guide (published November 2016) NA NA NHS Standard Contract Team 4E64 Quarry House Quarry Hill Leeds LS2 7UE england.econtract@nhs.net Document Status https://www.econtract.england.nhs.uk/home/ This is a controlled document. Whilst this document may be printed, the electronic version posted on the intranet is the controlled copy. Any printed copies of this document are not controlled. As a controlled document, this document should not be saved onto local or network drives but should always be accessed from the intranet. 2

NHS Standard Contract econtract system User Guide Version number: 3 First published: March 2015 Updated: January 2018 Prepared by: Classification: NHS Standard Contract Team, NHS England Official 3

Contents Executive summary... 5 1 Overview... 5 2 Queries... 7 3 Internet browsers... 7 4 How to use the econtract system Home Page... 9 5 How to create a contract Contract Details... 11 6 Populating the contract Co-ordinating Commissioner / Provider Details... 14 7 Populating the contract Service Categories... 17 8 Selection of full-length or shorter-form Contract... 19 9a Populating the contract Contract Options (full-length)... 21 9b Populating the contract Contract Options (shorter-form)... 23 10 Generating a contract or template Documents... 25 11 Saving a template Save as Template... 27 12 Using a template Select Contract Template... 30 13 Tips for use and navigation... 31 14 Issuing your contract... 31 15 Tailoring... 32 4

Executive summary The econtract system is an easy and efficient way for parties to create NHS Standard Contract documentation. This User Guide provides an overview of the econtract system, a step by step guide to using the system, and tips for use. 1 Overview 1.1 The econtract system is essentially a contract document creation system, rather than a contract storage system. 1.2 The econtract system offers the following major benefits to users: easy to use, intuitive and robust system; allows the contract content to be easily tailored to reflect the different services being provided (thus producing shorter, more relevant contracts a particular benefit to small providers); makes the contract production process more efficient; and gives assurance that the correct form of contract is used and that Contract tailoring is being applied correctly. NHS England strongly recommends that commissioners and providers use the econtract system. 1.3 A user accesses the system and completes a series of fields giving base data about the proposed contract. The base data comprises many of the fields which would be completed in the hard copy of the Particulars (contract term, commissioner details, service categories etc). 1.4 The data provided by the user enables the system to: produce a tailored version of the Service Conditions in PDF format. The tailored Service Conditions reflect the choices the user has made (for example, if a clause is not relevant to the services selected in Service Categories, the clause is marked as not used in the PDF). produce a partially completed and tailored version of the Particulars in Word format, reflecting the base data which the user has provided. label both the Service Conditions and the Particulars in a consistent way which identifies them both as being part of the same contract. 1.5 The user is then able to download the PDF Service Conditions and Word Particulars documents and save them locally, outside the system. The Service Conditions are then in their final form for that specific contract, whereas the user can, outside the system, complete the remaining necessary fields in the Particulars (those that are not needed to drive the content of the Service Conditions) before finalising these. The contract documents can then be issued to the other party with any attachments. 5

1.6 The system also offers a templating function, by which the contract choices the user has made are stored for re use. At the end of the contract creation process, the user has the option of creating a template and saving it to the system with a reference number and description. 1.7 The system does not offer the following functionality: Variations process variations will be handled using templates and guidance available on the NHS Standard Contract webpage. Contracts are not saved or stored by the system. Contracts are not issued by the system (please refer to s14 below). The system does not require password access (as no populated contracts or contract information is stored on the system). The system is not designed to be used on mobile devices. 1.8 The system has the following features: It is compatible with several internet browsers (Internet Explorer 7, IE8, IE9, IE10, IE11, Chrome, Firefox). There is a time out function after 20 minutes of inactivity. Mandatory fields are indicated on screen by a red asterisk *. Some fields are validated that is, the field will not accept certain characters or more or less than a certain number of characters. The final page of the Service Conditions produced by the system will show which Service Categories and Contract Options have been selected by the user, as an audit sheet. 1.9 The econtract system hosts both the full-length and the shorter-form Contracts. Information entered into the system by the user determines whether which Contract(s) the system offers to the user. 1.10 The NHS shorter-form Contract must not be used for contracts: under which acute, cancer, A&E, minor injuries, 111 or emergency ambulance services, or any other hospital inpatient services, including for mental health are being commissioned. 1.11 If the above service categories are selected by the user, only the full length version of the Contract will be offered by the system. If the user indicates that the above service categories do not apply to the contract being created, the econtract system will offer the user the choice between the full length and shorter-form versions of the Contract. More information on using the shorterform Contract is provided in the NHS Standard Contract Technical Guidance. 6

2 Queries Query on First check Email helpdesk econtract system This User Guide england.econtract@nhs.net NHS Standard Contract NHS Standard Contract Technical Guidance nhscb.contractshelp@nhs.net NHS shorter-form Contract NHS Standard Contract Technical Guidance NHS shorter-form Contract User Guide nhscb.contractshelp@nhs.net 3 Internet browsers 3.1 The econtract system is designed to work with commonly used internet browsers. However some versions of Internet Explorer prevent the user downloading the contract documents produced at the end of the process and an error message is returned. 3.2 The problem is fixable by changing the security settings in Microsoft Internet Explorer, using the following instructions: On the Tools menu, click Internet Options. On the Advanced tab, scroll to Security, and then click to select the Do not save encrypted pages to disk check box. 7

3.3 This can be done before the econtract process is started, or when the error message is returned. 8

4 How to use the econtract system 4.1 The econtract system can be accessed at: https://www.econtract.england.nhs.uk/home/ 4.2 This is the Home Page: 4.3 The Home tab returns the user to this home screen from anywhere is the system. Returning to the homepage will restart your session. 4.4 The main text on the home page contains updates on the econtract system. 4.5 Click on the relevant year under Create New Contract to begin to create a contract. 4.6 Click on Open Template to access the templates you have already created and saved. 4.7 The helpdesk for the econtract system can be emailed by clicking on england.econtract@nhs.net and the NHS Standard Contract helpdesk can be emailed by clicking on nhscb.contractshelp@nhs.net. 9

4.8 The ODS code lookup tab opens a new window to the NHS Digital ODS Online Enquiry Search Facility. 4.9 The external resources tab opens a new window with links to external resources: NHS Standard Contract webpage (containing the NHS Standard Contract Technical Guidance, the NHS shorter-form Contract User Guide, NHS Standard Contract sub-contract, CQUIN etc) HSCIC webpage for ODS code look up Specialised commissioning national programmes of care Public health commissioning Department of Health terms and conditions for purchase of goods and services 10

5 How to create a contract Contract Details 5.1 From the home screen, click under Create New Contract. The Contract Details screen is returned: 5.2 Enter your locally generated contract reference (maximum 50 characters) in the field provided. Note that only the following characters are accepted in this field: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, -, /. Characters such as %, +, @, ~ etc are not accepted by the system. Note that the Particulars and the Service Conditions documents generated by the econtract system are both marked with the contract reference entered here. 5.3 Enter the contract term in months (maximum 999 months). 5.4 If relevant, in Option to Extend Contract Term, enter the contract extension period in months (0-999 months). If this is not relevant, leave the field blank or enter 0. 11

5.5 The information entered in 5.2 5.4 above will be included in the Contract Reference page, the Service Commencement and Contract Term page, and Schedule 1C of the Particulars. 5.6 Enter the system-generated captcha text, or click on try another to generate a new captcha. Note that the captcha text is not case sensitive. 5.7 If incomplete or incorrect details are entered, the following error messages are returned: 12

5.8 If an invalid captcha is entered, the following error message is returned: 5.9 Click on Next to progress to the Co-ordinating Commissioner screen. 13

6 Populating the contract Co-ordinating Commissioner / Provider Details 6.1 After the Contract Details screen, the Co-ordinating Commissioner screen is returned: 6.2 Enter the name of the co-ordinating commissioner organisation (maximum 100 characters) in the field provided. Note that only the following characters are accepted in this field: a-z, A-Z, _, 0-9, ', &, (, ), -, /. Characters such as %, +, @, ~ etc are not accepted by the system. Note that you must ensure that each user in your organisation uses the same co-ordinating commissioner organisation name, as econtract templates are filed under this name. 6.3 Enter the ODS code of the co-ordinating commissioner organiation (maximum 3 characters). Note that only the following characters are accepted in this field: a-z, A-Z, 0-9. 14

6.4 Enter the address of the co-ordinating commissioner organisation(maximum 35 characters per field). Note that only the following characters are accepted in this field: a-z, A-Z, 0-9, _, &, (, ), -, /. Only a valid postcode (maximum 8 characters) format can be added to the Post Code field. 6.5 The information entered in 6.2 6.4 will be included in the Contract Reference page of the Particulars. 6.6 Click on Next to progress to the Provider Details screen. 6.7 Click on Previous to return to the Contract Details screen. The information you have entered into the Contract Details screen will still be populated and can be amended. If incorrect details are entered, the following error messages are returned: 15

6.8 After the Co-ordinating Commissioner screen, the Provider Details screen is returned: The instructions for the Provider Details screen are the same as the instructions for the Co-ordinating Commissioner screen with the exception of the ODS code. For the provider ODS code, up to 10 characters can be entered. 16

7 Populating the contract Service Categories 7.1 After the Provider Details screen, the Service Categories screen is returned: 7.2 Select all service categories which apply to the contract. At least one category must be selected. 7.3 For details on how the service categories selections affect the Particulars and Service Conditions produced by the econtract system, please refer to s13 below. Service category selection also affects whether the system returns the option of using the full length or the shorter-form Contract to the user. 7.4 If no service categories are selected, the following error message is returned: 17

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8 Selection of full-length or shorter-form Contract 8.1 If the user selects one or more of the following service categories (on the Service Categories screen shown in s7 above): Accident and emergency Acute Ambulance Cancer Mental Health and Learning Disability Secure Services NHS 111 Radiotherapy Urgent Care / Walk in Centre the Select NHS Contract Type screen is not returned. The econtract system will only offer the full-length Contract to the user and the Contract Options (see s9a below) screen is returned. 8.2 If one or more of the following service categories (on the Service Categories screen shown in s7 above): Community Continuing Health Care Diagnostic, Screening and Pathology End of Life Care Mental Health and Learning Disability Patient Transport the econtract system will offer the choice of the full-length Contract or the shorter-form Contract to the user, and the Select NHS Contract Type screen is returned: 19

8.3 To use the full-length Contract, select the full-length button. To use the shorterform Contract, select the shorter-form button. For more information on which services may be used with the full-length or shorter-form Contracts, please refer to s1.11 above. 20

9a Populating the contract Contract Options (full-length) 9a1 After the Select NHS Contract Type screen, the Contract Options screen is returned. If you have selected to use the full-length Contract, the following screen is returned: 9a2 9a3 Select all contract options which apply to the full length contract. The Clostridium Difficile baseline threshold can also be entered at this point, or can be completed in the Word copy of the Particulars when they are downloaded. The Clostridium Difficile baseline threshold field will only appear where Acute Services has been selected on the Service Categories screen (s7 above). For details on how the contract options selections affect the Particulars and Service Conditions produced by the econtract system, please refer to s13 below. 21

9a4 If no contract options are selected, the following error message is returned: 22

9b Populating the contract Contract Options (shorterform) 9b1 After the Select NHS Contract Type screen, the Contract Options screen is returned. If you have selected to use the shorter-form Contract, the following screen is returned: 9b2 Select all contract options which apply to the shorter-form contract. 23

9b3 If no contract options are selected, the following error message is returned: 24

10 Generating a contract or template Documents 10.1 After the Contract Options screen, the Documents screen is returned. If you have selected to use the full-length contract, the Documents screen is: 10.2 If you have selected to use the shorter-form contract, the Documents screen is: 25

Note if the system returns an error message when you try to generate a Particulars or a Service Conditions document, please refer to s3.0 above. 10.3 Click on Open Service Conditions to open the tailored Service Conditions in PDF format. This can then be saved to your local drive for issue by email to your provider. 10.4 Click on Open Particulars to open the partially completed and tailored Particulars in Word format. This can then be saved to your local drive for later completion and issue by email to your provider. 10.5 Click on Open General Conditions to open the General Conditions in PDF format. This can then be saved to your local drive for issue by email to the other party. Note that the Particulars and Service Conditions documents are both marked with the contract reference entered on the Contract Details screen. 10.6 If you wish to create a template of the contract selections for future use, click on Save as Template. 26

11 Saving a template Save as Template 11.1 After the Documents screen, the Save as Template screen is returned: 11.2 Enter the template name. Note that the template name must be unique to the co-ordinating commissioner name under which templates are stored. Note that there is no need to include full-length or shorter-form in your template name. The econtract system automatically stores the template as a full-length or shorter-form template. 27

If you try to save a template with a previously used name, the following error message is returned: Note that you must ensure that each user in your organisation uses the same co-ordinating commissioner name (entered on the Co-ordinating Commissioner screen), as econtract templates are filed under this name. Note that other system users can view your templates. This is permitted by the system, as only contract selections (ie no contract information) are stored in a template. 11.3 Enter the template description. 28

11.4 Click on Save as Template. The following screen is returned: Note that users are unable to delete templates. This can only be done by emailing the econtract helpdesk. 29

12 Using a template Select Contract Template (accessed from Home Page) 12.1 To use a template you or your organisation has previously created, return to the home page and select open template. The screen below is returned: 12.2 Click on the downward arrow to find your organisation name (here shown as UAT Commissioner) and to find the template: 12.3 Click on Select to open the template. The Contract Details screen is returned (refer to s5 above). 12.4 The template details are partially completed. The Contract Reference needs to be populated as you are now creating a new contract. 12.5 Click on Next to move on. 12.6 On the Provider Details screen, the provider details need to be populated as you are now creating a new contract. 30

12.7 On the Service Categories and Contract Options screens, the selections made when the template was created are still populated. These can be amended if necessary. 12.8 On the Documents screens, click on open service conditions and open particulars to open the contract documents. A new template can also be created at this point by clicking on save as template. 13 Tips for use and navigation 13.1 Remember that the system will time out after 20 minutes of inactivity. 13.2 It is useful to have your contract information and a copy of the Particulars and Service Conditions to hand when populating an econtract. 13.3 Ensure that you must ensure that each user in your organisation uses the same Co-ordinating Commissioner name (entered on the Co-ordinating Commissioner screen), as econtract templates are filed under this name. 13.4 When you have created and saved a contract, you can use the Previous button on each screen the details you have populated will still be available and can be typed over to allow you to create a new contract in the same session. Using the Home tab will reset the session and clear the information entered. 13.5 When you have saved a template, you can use the Previous button on each screen the details you have populated will still be available and can be typed over to allow you to create a new template. 13.6 The captcha security question only needs to be entered once per browser session. 13.7 Use the Previous and Next buttons to move around the system. Using your browser back and forward buttons may result in a system error. 14 Issuing your contract 14.1 The econtract system does not include the functionality required to issue a contract to the other party. If necessary (for example, if the contract documents are very large), users with an NHS.net email address and N3 connectivity can register on the Secure File Transfer (SFT) service provided by HSCIC, to allow them to share documents. SFT is a secure web based service designed to target data transfers between a minimum of 20MB up to 1GB. 14.2 More information on SFT may be found on the NHS Digital website. 31

14.3 Queries on using the system may be sent to NHS Digital at: Email: exeter.helpdesk@hscic.gov.uk Phone: 0300 303 4034 15 Tailoring Service Categories screen full length Contract 15.1 The information entered on the Service Categories screen will be included in the Services - Service Categories section of the Particulars. The information will tailor Schedule 4A and Schedule 4B of the Particulars document created by the econtract system. 15.2 In Schedule 4A, only the operational standards applicable to each service category will be included in the Particulars produced by the econtract. For example: a) Operational standard E.B.4 will appear only if one or more of Acute Services, Community Services, Cancer Services, Diagnostic, Screening and/or Pathology Services are selected. b) Operational standard E.B.5 will appear only if one or more of A+E Services or Urgent Care / Walk-in Centre Services / Minor Injuries Unit are selected. c) Operational standards E.B.6, E.B.7, E.B.8, E.B.9, E.B.10, E.B.11, E.B.12, and E.B.13 will appear only if one or more of Acute Services, Cancer Services or Radiotherapy Services are selected. d) Etc. 15.3 In Schedule 4B, only the national quality requirements applicable to each service category will be included in the Particulars produced by the econtract. For example: a) E.A.S.4 and E.A.S.5 will appear only if Acute Services has been selected. b) E.A.S.7a, E.A.S.7b, and E.B.S.5 will appear only if A+E Services has been selected. c) E.B.S.6 will appear only if Acute Services or Cancer Services has been selected. d) Etc. 15.4 In the Service Conditions, only the clauses applicable to each service category will be included. For example: 32

a) SC3.2B will appear only if Ambulance Services or NHS 111 Services has been selected. b) SC3.2A will appear only if any service category except Ambulance Services or NHS 111 Services has been selected. c) SC1.1 applies to all service categories. d) Etc. Contract Options screen - full length Contract 15.5 The information entered on the Contract Options screen will be included in the Specialised Services, Service Requirements, Payment and Quality sections of the Particulars. The information will tailor Schedule 4A, Schedule 4B, Schedule 4G and Schedule 6B of the Particulars. For example: a) In Schedule 4A, E.B.3 will appear only if Services to which 18 Weeks Applies has been selected. b) In Schedule 4B, E.B.S.4 will appear only if Services to which 18 Weeks Applies has been selected. c) The first part of Schedule 4F will appear only if provider type NHS Foundation Trust / NHS Trust has been selected. Schedule 4F only applies to Acute Services, so Acute Services must also have been selected on the Service Categories screen d) The second part of Schedule 4F will appear only if provider type Other has been selected. Schedule 4F only applies to Acute Services, so Acute Services must also have been selected on the Service Categories screen e) Etc. 15.6 Other schedules will be marked as Not applicable depending on which contract options are selected. For example, Schedule 2D and Schedule 2E appear only if Essential Services has been selected. 15.7 In the Service Conditions, only the clauses applicable to each contract option will be included. For example: a) SC29.5 and SC29.6 will appear only if Indicative Activity Plan has been selected. b) SC 29.7 will appear only if Activity Planning Assumptions has been selected. c) Etc. 33

15.8 The Clostridium Difficile Baseline Threshold field will only appear if the Acute Services option has been selected on the Service Categories screen. If the Clostridium Difficile Baseline Threshold is not applicable to the contract, not applicable will appear in the Quality section of the Particulars. If the Clostridium Difficile Baseline Threshold is applicable to the contract, enter nil or the relevant threshold in the field. This is not a mandatory field so this can be completed in the Particulars Word document at a later date. Shorter-form Contract 15.9 There are fewer areas in which tailoring is applied to the shorter-form Contract. 15.10 The information entered on the Service Categories screen will be included in the Services - Service Categories section of the Particulars. The information will tailor Schedule 4A of the Particulars document created by the econtract system. 15.11 Only the operational standards applicable to each service category will be included in the Particulars produced by the econtract. For example: a) Operational standard E.B.4 will appear only if Community Services or Diagnostic, Screening and/or Pathology Services are selected. b) Operational standard E.B.S.3 will appear only if Mental Health Services is selected. 15.12 In the Service Conditions, only the clauses applicable to each service category will be included. For example: a) SC11.3 will only appear if Patient Transport Services are not selected. 15.13 The information entered on the Contract Options screen will be included in the Service Requirements and Payment sections of the Particulars. 15.14 In the Service Conditions, only the clauses applicable to each contract option will be included. For example: a) SC5.2 and SC5.3 will appear only if Essential Services has been selected. b) SC36 will be tailored according to which tick boxes in national prices and local prices are selected. 34