Provision of Children and Young People's Autism Assessments (Short-Term Waiting List Initiative)

NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (GICB) seeks expressions of interest from suitably qualified organisations that have the necessary capability and capacity to provide short-term additional Autism Assessment capacity for Children and Young People to support the autism pathway in Gloucestershire.

There is a national drive from NHS England to improve the timeliness of an autism diagnosis for children and young people and ensure that areas are focussing on pre and post diagnosis support. These areas will be the focus of any future Joint Ofsted/CQC SEND Inspection. The outcomes for children and young people from a robust autism pathway include:  reduced likelihood of mental health crisis  reduced admissions to Tier 4  reduced use of residential care  reduced school exclusions, and  Improved transition to becoming a healthy adult.

There has been an increase in the number of children and young people waiting for an Autism assessment. The NHS providers do not currently have the capacity to see all these children and young people in a timely manner and there are now a significant number of children and young people in Gloucestershire on the waiting lists for an autism assessment and diagnosis.

The service required from the successful bidder is to provide additional capacity within Gloucestershire to reduce these waiting lists and ensure children and young people received quality autism assessments in a timely manner. Please note: this contract is specific to the delivery of autism assessments and does not include ADHD assessments.

Aims and Objectives of the Service

The successful provider will work in partnership with the NHS in Gloucestershire to deliver autism assessments for the children identified by clinicians within Gloucestershire Health and Care Services NHS Foundation Trust.

The service will support the NHS teams in Gloucestershire to reduce the current waiting lists and ensure children and young people receive quality autism assessments in a reasonable timescale.

NHS Gloucestershire ICB is seeking to enter into a contract with the preferred bidder for an initial period of 18-months, with an option to extend for a further 12-month period, to commence on 1 March 2024.

NHS Gloucestershire ICB expects that the service provided will represent value for money. The successful bidder will receive a contract value of £239,687 for the initial 18-month contract period. Bidders unable to provide the service within the cost envelope detailed above will be excluded from this procurement. Organisations interested in providing this service should register on the In-Tend e-procurement portal (https://in-tendhost.co.uk/gloucestershireccg) and express interest no later than 5pm, Thursday 9 November 2023. Associated Invitation to Tender (ITT) documentation will then be made available for bidding organisations to access. Completed ITT submissions must be returned via the In-Tend portal no later than noon, Friday 17 November 2023.