National Learning Disability and Autism Hub for Advancing Practice

NHS England seeks to engage with potential suppliers who could support a future tender for a National Autism and Learning Disability Hub, supporting advance practitioners, trainees, people with autism and learning disabilities, and their families.

We are also seeking to hold a pre-market engagement event on the 5th October 2023, where you will have the opportunity to meet the buyers and shape any future requirements, ahead of a formal tender.

If you'd like to find out more information, attend the pre-market engagement event or express an interest in the services, please click on the following link.

https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome

The Programme will be a pilot for introducing aspiring multi-professional advanced practitioners into learning disability and autism services and the support required to optimise these roles apply similarly to the multi-professional consultant role. An alternative feasible option to this commission would be additional capacity into each regional Faculty for Advancing Practice. However, there is insufficient existing capacity to take on these additional activities within the faculties and it is not possible to grow this capacity given the freeze on recruitment and a reduction in roles and capacity associated with the NHSE restructure. External organisations already have experience in this field and have the necessary infrastructure to support this fixed term project (please see further below for mandatory requirements). It is therefore proposed that the Hub be hosted by an organisation or consortia experienced in the delivery of post graduate level advancing practice education and training in learning disability and autism, or experienced in delivering advanced practice education and work with an external organisation, for example, to provide the learning disability and autism expertise/input. The organisation requires the capability, expertise, and capacity to support the specific education training needs of aspiring trainees, trainees, existing advanced and consultant practitioners, supervisors, and employers (e.g., supervision, Organisation Development support). The successful supplier will be required to establish the Hub as a virtual concept. NHSE anticipates that the successful supplier will establish a flexible model of delivery that will be based on the following (or similar) innovative model of delivery: • Comprise of a central 'hub' of relevant learning disability and autism expertise; not constrained by geographical boundaries (within England) that operates at national level to co-ordinate the support offer. • Recruit and assign a variety of roles/individuals to operate as outreach education and organisational development resources or 'spokes' from the Hub to work with regions/local systems in a way that is sensitive to existing system maturity and priority of need.