Provision of Management of H.Pylori C13 Urea Breath Test Service - Window 2

The aims and objectives of the service were:

• To satisfactorily deliver the H Pylori breath test service across Leicester City.
• To enable appropriate and timely treatment for the management of dyspepsia
• To improve the care of patients with dyspepsia symptoms through the provision of a standardised effective and evidence-based H. pylori service.
• To ensure that all patients with dyspepsia requiring a H-Pylori test as per NICE guidelines have access to this test in a community setting
• To improve access and choice for patients
• To ensure that all requests for Endoscopy are appropriate and only those patients with \"ALARM symptoms\" are referred to secondary care providers. This will prevent unnecessary and inappropriate outpatient attendances which has an emphasis on providing better value for money
• To ensure that the treatment and review of dyspeptic patients is documented on practice computer systems so that a register of patients with dyspepsia can be produced

Additional information:

NHS Leicester City CCG was re-commissioning its Management of Helicobacter Pylori C13 Urea Breath Test Service, the service had been recently re-commissioned through an Any Qualified Provider (AQP) contract scheme and the Commissioner has then decided to re-open the window to allow further entrants to the scheme to enhance the patient choice offer of the service.

This opportunity was to maintain a wide provider market and patient choice for this service by commissioning this as an AQP contract framework.

The Commissioners wished to receive responses to the Invitation to Tender (ITT) from suitably qualified and experienced Providers with the necessary capacity and capability (or a demonstrable ability to provide the necessary capacity and capability) to provide the range of services required.

In securing services from Providers, the Commissioner needed assurance of competence, quality and safety standards, just as it would for services secured under a formal tender process. Any provider would have been eligible to join a list of qualified providers subject to demonstrating competency against the authority's specified criteria. The list was open to new entrants to the market, and previous unsuccessful applicants subject to assessment. Providers required to deliver the service from premises within Leicester City (as defined by the boundary of Leicester City council)

The successful provider(s) were expected to sign the standard NHS contract, accepting all terms and conditions. It should be noted that under the Any Qualified Provider model, there will be no guarantees of volume or payment in the contracts awarded. This contract is available until 31st August 2024 The contract duration will be for a period of 5 years.

The ITT was live on the 19th June 2019 on M&L CSU Bravo portal and the deadline for submissions was 12:00 on the 16th July 2019. Clarification period was observed during the procurement process up to a week before the ITT deadline, i.e. the deadline for submitting clarification questions on the tender was 17:00 12th July 2019

Providers were awarded based on bid which passed the relevant criteria. Evaluation of safeguarding was also assessed to determine final list of successful providers.