Mid and South Essex Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS)

The Contracting Authorities (hereinafter referred to as "the Authority") for this procurement were: NHS Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (as Coordinating Commissioner), NHS Basildon & Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Castle Point and Rochford Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Southend Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Thurrock Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group.

The Authority has awarded a contract to deliver Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) for the population of mid and south Essex (MSE), to the most economically advantageous tenderer (Thames Ambulance Service Limited) as a result of an 'Open' (above light-touch threshold) procurement procedure.

The Service covers all land-based provision (across all ages) with the exception of secure mental health transport. Additionally, the service will be provided to patients registered with NHS West Essex CCG in relation to journeys to/from the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre. The Service was not lotted as it was deemed that would result in unnecessary fragmentation and complexities.

The NEPTS encompasses:

• Booking & Eligibility Assessment;
• Transportation of patients; and
• On Site support at local NHS Acute Trust sites.

NEPTS are a key enabler underpinning access to elective care and supporting timely and efficient discharge processes for acute and community providers. As a partner within the system, the successful provider will support improvements in the latter stages of urgent and emergency care pathways, enabling patient choice and equitable access for elective care.

The Contract has been awarded for a term of 60 months (five years), with the possibility of extending the term for a period of 24 additional months (two years) beyond the initial contracted duration by agreement between the Authority and the Bidder.

The anticipated aggregate contract value including extensions, variations, growth and inflation advertised in the Find a Tender Service Contract Notice was £73,150,000 and the contract was awarded within the pre-published affordability envelope of £40,800,000 over the full 5 years contract term.

The contract model for the NEPTS is a block, with tolerance levels of 5% to be applied to the contract, which will be monitored on a mobility level, with adjustment to the block being considered if activity goes above tolerance levels.