NHS Devon - Provision of a Safe Bus for Plymouth City Centre and Torquay Town Centre

NHS Devon ICB has successfully run the Safe Bus in Plymouth City and Torquay Town center to support people and providers within the nighttime economy, with the aim of reducing ambulance and Emergency Department (ED) attendances.

To support the continued pressure on the health system and to support the nighttime economy the service is commissioned to operate 2200-0400 during nights of high footfall to ensure maximum impact.

During the operational months (23/04/22 - 05/08/23) the Safe Bus in Plymouth has dealt with 482 patients over 84 deployments, with only a 9% onward referral to ED.

In Plymouth the Safe Bus has been run on consistently on Saturday nights with additional deployments on night which are anticipated to be busy in the NTE, such as the world cup, freshers week, Halloween etc.

A night bus / safe space pilot has been running in Torquay since July 2023 to test the need and meet seasonal demand. During the first 6 nights (July 2023), the team had 41 medical and welfare contacts and the service avoided 11 ambulances and 17 attendances at ED.

Interested providers will be able to view this opportunity via the live opportunities list on the 'Health Family' e-procurement system, Atamis. Click on 'View our Live Opportunities' from the home page, available on the following link: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome.

Once you have found the opportunity (via the search function, using the title or reference number), to gain full access to the bid documentation (including questionnaires), you will need to click on 'Register interest' - this will take you to the log-in page.

If you are not already registered on the system, you will need to do so before gaining full access to the documentation and be able to submit a bid.

The Contract will be for an initial term of 2 years, with an option to extend for any period up to a further 12 months, at the sole discretion of the Commissioner. Services are scheduled to commence on 1st April 2024.

Additional information: The services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations") which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but are instead governed by the "Light Touch Regime" contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77).

The tendering process will be conducted in accordance with the requirements and flexibilities provided by Articles 74 to 76 of the Directive, and Regulations 74 to 76 of the Regulations. The Authority will run a transparent tender process, treating all Bidders equally. For the avoidance of doubt, the Authority will not be bound by the Regulations or any other regulations or legislation except for the specific parts or circumstances that apply to the procurement of these Services.

Neither the inclusion of a Bidder selection stage, nor the use of any language or terms found in the Directive or Regulations, nor the description of the procedure voluntarily adopted by the Authority ("Open", "Restricted", "Competitive Procedure with Negotiation", "Competitive Dialogue" or any other description), nor any other indication, shall be taken to mean that the Authority intends to hold itself bound by the Directive or Regulations, save by the provisions applicable to services coming within the scope of Annex XIV of the Directive / Schedule 3 of the Regulations.

The Contracting Authority intends to voluntarily observe the award decision notices provisions and 10 day standstill period described in Regulation 87 of the Regulations. Unsuccessful Bidders will receive scores and reasons for the decision, including the characteristics and relative advantages of the winning bid and the reasons why the Bidder/application was unsuccessful. Deadline for lodging of appeals should be in accordance with Regulation 87 and Regulation 91 of the Regulations.