Integrated Community Musculoskeletal (MSK) Service for North Tyneside

North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) are working for and on behalf of NHS North Tyneside CCG who wish to commission an Integrated Community MSK service for North Tyneside and are inviting expressions of interest in this tender opportunity.

The overarching outcome of the service is to enhance the management of patients within primary care and actively manage the demand for secondary care services; ensuring patients have speedy access to appropriate treatment.

This service is for patients aged 18 and over with musculoskeletal symptoms where all alternative conservative treatments have been considered as first line management. The service will:

• triage referrals; • treat symptoms, including by joint injections; • arrange access to appropriate diagnostics, either by direct provision or by referral to a third party provider; and • make onward referrals when deemed necessary.

The aims of the Integrated Community MSK Service are to:

• Increase the percentage of patients completing treatment reporting high levels of patient satisfaction and confidence in the MSK service. • High number of patients self-managing their condition. • Provision of patient and carer education. • Transfer activity from an acute setting to the community. • Improve the clinical pathway by developing joint working between primary and secondary care providers and clinicians. • Increase the opportunities and management of patients in primary care without the need for referral to secondary care. • A reduction in health inequalities through improved access. • Increase conversion rates for surgery (for referrals from the service to secondary care).

Additional information: It is anticipated that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations may apply for this contract. It is the bidder’s responsibility to verify TUPE information with the incumbent service providers (details of which will be provided in the tender documentation).

Under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 the Contracting Authority must consider:

(a) how what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area where it exercises its functions, and

(b) how, in conducting the process of procurement, it might act with a view to securing that improvement

Accordingly, the subject matter of the contract has been scoped to take into account the priorities of the Contracting Authority relating to economic, social, and environmental well-being. These priorities are described in the Invitation to Tender and are reflected in environmental and social characteristics in the evaluation criteria for the award of the contract.

The contract is for an initial 5 years and 3 months plus the option to extend the contract for a period of 2 years at the discretion of the Contracting Authority subject to satisfactory financial and contractual performance.

Bidders are advised however that NHS North Tyneside CCG is currently reviewing spend and pathways in a range of clinical areas. As part of that review the CCG is considering altering the arrangements for the provision of consultant-referred outpatient physiotherapy following a consultant outpatient appointment or an inpatient/daycase procedure. It is possible that a further separate tender may result from those considerations within the next 12 months.

Please note the deadline for submission of all tender returns is 12 noon on 5 August 2016.

A bidder event will be held on Thursday 14 July 2016 at NHS North Tyneside CCG, 12 Hedley Court, Orion Business Park, Tyne Tunnel Trading Estate, North Shields NE29 7ST between 14:00 and 16:00. Bidders will be provided with an overview of the aims and objectives of the new service, an overview of the tender documentation and the procurement process. Further information regarding registration for this event can be located within Document 1 of the tender documentation.

NECS is utilising an electronic tendering tool to gather expressions of interest. Therefore, all communications will be conducted via the In-Tend portal, https://in-tendhost.co.uk/necs. It is free to register on the portal, which can be accessed at any time. A dedicated help-desk is available should potential providers have any queries and can be contacted on 0844 2728810 (Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm) or via emailing [email protected].