Adult community health services in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire

NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is procuring adult community health services in the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire geography. The procurement is using a bespoke approach similar to a competitive procedure with negotiation. In order to take part in the first round of negotiation meetings, potential bidders must notify the CCG of their intent to take part no later than 4pm on Tuesday 22 January 2019. Register at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home.

The service will begin on 1 April 2020. The Contract will be for a period of up to 10 years. The indicative budget is £105m per annum. The CCG wants to ensure consistency across the geography. The CCG defines this as one provider delivering at least 85% of the Contract value itself.

The Contract will cover all core adult community health services, focusing on four overarching service specifications:

• Integrated locality teams focusing on relationships with primary care through regular multidisciplinary team meetings to support people who have relatively stable needs to manage and reduce the risk of acute worsening of their condition. Access to community services will be through a single point of access. • Urgent and reactive care teams working across localities to manage people who have acutely worsening conditions. This includes rapid response and has links to secondary care and community beds. • Specialist advice and support has clinical staff knowledgeable about specific conditions such as diabetes and heart failure. There is an expectation that the community service will strengthen links between secondary care and primary care and ensure that patients, carers and professionals are empowered to better understand and manage the condition. • Locality hubs are provided through physical building(s) and/or virtual connections of professionals within a locality that give people and professionals across a larger area access to services to support wellbeing and promote prevention and self-management. These four groupings combine services according to the level of complexity of people they support, all designed to help people to stay in the community.

The CCG wants to ensure a safe transfer of services so that from the start of the contract patients and carers experience as a minimum the same level of service that they have been receiving, with no gaps in provision. The Provider needs to become a long-term system partner, providing person-centred care, working closely with primary care leadership and being flexible to transition towards more integrated and innovative working during the life of the contract. The Provider needs to be part of Healthier Together, the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP), work towards implementing the STP vision for an integrated care system and be willing to be part of a provider alliance with primary care localities.

Additional information: This Contract Notice follows a Prior Information Notice released on 10th September 2018 and two market engagement events for potential bidders in 2018.

Whether previously registered or involved in past market engagement events or not, all potential bidders interested in this procurement must formally register on the CCG's e-procurement system at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home. Potential bidders should then review the list of 'current tenders' and select the option to 'express an interest'. Any further information about the procurement will be released via the portal so potential bidders are advised to include the contact details of at least two people when registering to allow for access to the portal in times of staff absence.

Potential bidders who wish to attend a market engagement event should send a message stating this via the e-procurement system no later than 5pm on Thursday 17 January 2019. The event will be held at 10am on Monday 21st January 2019. Details will be provided to potential bidders that express an interest through the e-procurement portal.

Potential bidders that wish to take part in formal negotiation meetings with the CCG should send a message stating this via the e-procurement system no later than 4pm on Tuesday 22 January 2019. Potential bidders will be allocated time to meet with the CCG. Meetings will begin from 30 January 2019.

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

The procurement 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 CCG will run a transparent procurement process, treating all Bidders equally. For the avoidance of doubt, the CCG will not be bound by the Regulations or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or any other regulations or legislation except for the specific parts or circumstances that apply to the procurement of these services.