Pre-Procurement Market Engagement Event - Transitional Care (Intensive Rehabilitation) Facility

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GWH NHS FT) would like to invite stakeholders to attend a Supplier/Bidder Engagement Event, which will inform plans to procure the design, build and operation of a standalone Transitional Care Facility on land adjacent to our acute hospital premises.

GWH NHS FT is one of the biggest healthcare providers and employers in the South West, with around 2.5 million patient contacts a year. We provide healthcare to the people of Swindon and the surrounding areas, offering the latest treatments and care in hospital, in the local community and in people's own homes. GWH NHS FT has 523 acute inpatient beds, numerous outpatient clinics, CT and MRI scanners, maternity services, an Intensive Care Unit, an Urgent Care Centre and a 24/7 Emergency Department. We also provide the Adult Community Services in Swindon, supporting people to stay well and out of hospital, through a range of services that we provide in local community facilities and in people's own homes across Swindon. We have a team of 4,500 highly skilled, dedicated and compassionate staff working in the Great Western Hospital and within our community healthcare facilities.

Current position

We have had substantial growth in our local population; between 2001 and 2031, the population of Swindon is expected to have grown by 47%. Bed occupancy rates are therefore high, which impacts on the flow of patients through the hospital.

The growth in demand means that with no change in our service model, future bed requirements would increase by 169 over 10 years (81 over 5 years), particularly as we are seeing more frail older people who tend to stay in hospital for longer. Staying in bed in hospital longer than needed has the effect of reducing muscle strength and aerobic capacity, and reduces the ability to carry out everyday tasks, often leading to greater rehabilitation requirements and support needed post-discharge.

As the number of patients has risen, and their needs have changed, we are looking at new models of care that will enable us to right-size our capacity for our current demand, and that will enable care to be delivered in the most appropriate setting for our patients in the future.

Additional information:

Options to explore

We are looking for interest from potential partners (who would undertake the design, build and operation of an intensive rehabilitation facility for a fixed term contract period, during which

GWH NHS FT would commit to a number of beds at a fixed cost for agreed cohorts of clinically appropriate patients) to develop a proposal which creates a UK centre of excellence for intensive rehabilitation.

This proposal has commissioner support and is the number one priority development scheme for our STP. We have recently submitted a bid via the STP for national Wave 4 funding, with the outcome of this expected in November.

We are looking for proposals from providers that can offer a cost effective solution, along with proven experience in the design, build and operation of rehabilitation services that would enable us to free up inpatient capacity. We would be keen to hear if providers would also be interested in developing a joint private patient offering in a new facility. We are interested in developing some form of partnership with an interested provider and would be open to discussing options for such an arrangement.

Next steps

Prior to any future procurement process, GWH NHS FT wishes to engage with interested providers who would like to learn more about the requirement and service delivery options.

Interested parties should be keen to establish a forward thinking and innovative relationship with GWH NHS FT, as we seek to deliver a new model for intensive rehabilitation in the UK that we hope will mirror the successes seen in Europe and internationally, in terms of improved and targeted rehabilitation for appropriate patients, while protecting vital acute inpatient capacity for those who need it most. Together with an improved offering for our private patients, we hope to improve and increase our inpatient capacity in order to meet the challenge of growing patient demand.

The Pre-procurement Market Engagement Event will take place on Friday 28 September 2018 from 10:30hrs to 1430hrs in Swindon. There will be a presentation and questions at this session. Potential providers interested in attending the Pre-procurement Market Engagement event should register by completing the attached Attendee Registration Form and returning it by 24 September 2018 to gwh.businessdevelopment@nhs.net

The exact address will be published to those that register their interest to attend.