Home Oxygen Assessment and Review Service

North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is working for and on behalf of NHS County Durham CCG NHS Tees Valley CCG - Darlington, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland Locality areas only, Sunderland CCG, Gateshead locality of Newcastle Gateshead CCG and South Tyneside CCG (Contracting Authorities), who are conducting a Request for Information (RFI) exercise in order to gain a better understanding of the capacity and appetite of the market to deliver Home Oxygen Assessment and Review Service.

The aim of the service is to provide a Home Oxygen Assessment and Review Service (HOS-AR) is to ensure that home oxygen is appropriately prescribed to those people who clinically need it. It should ensure that people prescribed oxygen and prescribing clinicians alike are well informed about the nature, scope and capability of the home oxygen service, and that provision is evidence-based, clinically-led and continually strives to improve outcomes.

It is important to note that this PIN/RFI is not a call for competition and as such potential providers will need to express an interest in any future tender opportunity once a contract notice is published on Find and Tender Service and on Contracts Finder.

It should be noted that this PIN/RFI invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this RFI exercise only, and it is NOT a pre-qualification questionnaire, and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process. This PIN/RFI is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise. An expression of interest is no indication of a commitment to participate in the RFI process nor does it infer any preferential or special status on those individuals and organisations who express an interest in the RFI exercise.

NECS is utilising an electronic tendering portal (In-Tend) to manage this RFI and as such interested individuals and organisations will need to register on the portal to access and complete the RFI questionnaire.

It is free to register on the portal, which can be accessed at any time of day.

Should you have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal, you should contact the eTendering provider by Email: support@in-tend.com or by phone 0844 2728810 Website: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/nhsnecsu/aspx/Home Helpdesk Support is available (Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5.00pm).

Potential providers are to note that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (as amended) may apply to a future procurement 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.

All completed RFI responses must be returned by 5pm on 26 May 2021.