NHS Coventry is part of a consortium of West Midlands Primary Care Trusts who are promoting stop smoking services and stop smoking in Pregnancy Services. Stop smoking services are time-limited to support people who smoke to stop smoking successfully and permanently. The service has four key components:

• Assessing the service user's nicotine dependence at the start of the intervention
• Providing behavioural support
• Providing pharmacotherapy
• Establishing the service user's smoking status at the end of the intervention

NHS Coventry wishes to engage with as many suitably-qualified providers of services as possible and are offering standardised tariff payments on a sliding scale based on results. By opening the market it is hoped that this will encourage innovation and increase the number and range of non smoking services available. Contracts will be awarded to all providers who pass an accreditation process and bids must be submitted by the 30th November 2009. Providers must deliver services in line with the evidence based service specifications. Providers will be expected to recruit service users who reside in the area covered by NHS Coventry only. Contracts will be awarded from 1st April 2010 onwards for up to three years, with all contracts awarded terminating on 31 March 2013, regardless of when a contract is awarded.

NHS Coventry appreciate that there is a limited timescale for the submission of bids and have therefore appointed a consultant, Mark Kinross, to assist voluntary sector bidders who wish to participate in the Stop Smoking Programme.  Mark's role is to be a critical friend, to help work on business models/plans, and to test assumptions on activity/risk. Mark's services will be provided entirely free.

Should your organisation be interested in participating in this programme and wish Mark Kinross' assistance, please contact Harjeet Matharu at Voluntary Action Coventry (tel: 024 76220381 or e-mail: h.matharu@vacoventry.org.uk ) as soon as possible. An appointment will then be made for Mark to visit you at your offices at a time convenient to yourself.

For further information on the Stop Smoking Services, please the Lifestyle Tariffs' website, http://www.lifestyletariffs.westmidlands.nhs.uk/