Anticoagulation Service (Non-Complex Pathway) for NHS Sunderland and County Durham CCGs

North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is a commissioning support service working for and on behalf of NHS County Durham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) (the Contracting Authorities) who are undertaking a joint procurement to commission Anticoagulant Services (Non Complex Pathway) for County Durham and Sunderland areas under the NHS Standard Contract 2021/22 (Particulars, Service Conditions, General Conditions) or any edition or any subsequent revisions.

The contract term is for an initial period of 2-years commencing on 01 October 2022, with an option to extend for a further 2-years at the discretion of the Contracting Authorities and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.

The closing date for submission of tenders is 12 noon on 11 April 2022.

Firstly, the "Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006" as amended by the "Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulation 2014" (TUPE) may apply to this contract as this is an existing service provision. Bidders are advised to obtain their own legal advice and carry out due diligence including the New Fair Deal non-statutory policy setting out how pensions issues are to be dealt with when staff are compulsorily transferred from the public sector to independent providers delivering public services.

Secondly, due to currently proposed legislation, which may mean that the current responsibilities of Clinical Commissioning Groups will transfer into Integrated Care Systems with effect from 01 July 2022, the ultimate commissioner(s) for this contract may change.

Thirdly, previous publication concerning this procedure publication reference 2021/S 000-014494.

NECS is utilising an electronic tendering tool to manage this procurement and communicate with potential bidders. Accordingly, there will be no hard copy documents issued to potential bidders and all communications with NECS, including bid submissions, will be conducted via the In-tend portal at: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/nhsnecsu

It is free to register on the portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. Should bidders have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal; they should contact the In-tend helpdesk via:

support@in-tend.com or call us on 0845 557 8079 / +44 (0) 114 407 0065

The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 9am - 5.30pm

Tender documentation will be available on the e-tendering site from 09 March 2022.