Procurement for the provision of primary care nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry and inpatients services to HMPs Downview, Coldingley, High Down and Send

NHS England are seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from providers who have the capability and capacity to undertake a single integrated contract for the provision of primary care nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry and inpatients* services to HMP Downview, HMP Coldingley, HMP High Down and HMP Send, and would wish to take to part in a potential procurement exercise.

The procurement is likely to take place in Spring and Summer 2016 and the contract is due to begin in April 2017 (aside from some dentistry services, for which contract commencement is to be deferred to April 2018).

NHS England will commission a prime provider model for prison healthcare services in order to support integrated, patient centred care across the full range of service specialties required to manage the complex healthcare needs of those in the prison settings. The service specifications provided at tender stage will set out the range of services required by the Commissioner.

NHS England will hold a contract with the prime provider, who in turn can directly provide care and/or subcontract care to other specialist providers for primary care nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry and inpatients services. The prime provider will also be responsible for ensuring that all healthcare services operating within the prison work in an integrated way, delivering seamless care pathways.

Services will be supportive of each other and the patient, minimising repetition and handoffs. Services under the prime provider model will be accountable not only for their own area of specialism but also to work together to contribute to the functioning of the healthcare services as a whole. The prime provider will hold overall clinical, governance and financial accountability for healthcare services in the prisons, coordinating provision and distributing funding etc.

It is anticipated that the initial contract would be for five years (with the option to extend by up to a further two years) and have an annual value in the region of £6 million (this figure excludes services which the prime provider is responsible for coordinating but not for direct delivery).

In line with current NHS requirements prison healthcare services will be contracted using the following:

If you would like to express an interest in this project, please register on the In-Tend portal and submit a completed Provider Sounding Questionnaire by 12pm on 18th February 2016.

Further information in the additional text section

Additional information: The procurement exercise will be undertaken with potential prime providers, but specialist providers of the services being commissioned may also respond to this notice if they would like commissioners to pass their contact details on to potential prime providers. Please ensure that you indicate in your response whether your organisation is expressing an interest as a potential prime provider or in order for your details to be passed on as a potential sub-contractor.

To register on In-Tend please visit: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Registration

Please send the completed questionnaire by correspondence on the below project:

NHS E South (South East) - Procurement for the provision of primary care nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry and inpatients services to HMPs Downview, Coldingley, High Down and Send (SCW/NHSEQ81/00000146/2016)

This notice is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right, and therefore publication or response does not commit NHS England or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest. NHS England will not be liable for costs incurred by any interested party in participating in this exercise.

• Inpatients service is for HMP High Down only.