Expressions of Interest for Integrated Urgent Care Services including the provision of NHS 111 Services

NHS Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (DDCCG) who are leading a procurement project (the Project) across four counties in the East Midlands: Derbyshire; Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland (LLR); Northamptonshire; and Nottinghamshire are inviting expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced providers capable of delivering a range of aspects of Integrated Urgent Care (IUC).

The aim of the project is to commission IUC Services (inclusive of an NHS 111 telephony service) as specified by participating commissioners and directed by national guidance. Two NHS England national policies integral to the Project are the NHS Long Term Plan and the IUC Service Specification which can be found at the following URLs; https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Integrated-Urgent-Care-Service-Specification.pdf

The procurement will include three aspects of IUC however not all aspects will be procured in all counties. The following information shows the IUC areas and the geography they may be procured over;

1. NHS 111 Call Handling with associated clinical support -All four counties

2. Clinical Assessment Services - Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland (LLR), Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire

3. GP out of hours services - Derbyshire, LLR and Nottinghamshire.

Services would be expected to commence on the 1st October 2021 and the provider(s) would be given a six month mobilisation period.

The key objectives of this Project are to;

• Commission high quality, safe and effective services that meet the urgent care needs of the specified populations;
• Ensure good value for money across each health system;
• Commission integrated patient pathways and outcomes; and
• Ensure there is continuity of service provision from the 01.10.21 onwards.

Key features will include:

• One entry point via NHS 111 (telephony or online)
• Integrated IT system(s)
• Consult and Complete model
• Direct booking into the wider system
• Digitally enabled technologies that support patients in a more convenient and cost effective manner

In terms of the Clinical Assessment Services these will vary on a per county basis as to what is included. Some of the possible elements are listed as follows;

• Clinical triage of agreed calls originating from NHS 111 (both online and telephony)
• Clinical validation of appropriate calls
• Clinical validation of low acuity ambulance calls (originating via 111 and 999)
• Clinical advice and guidance to clinicians working face to face with patients
• Navigation to appropriate services

Additional information: The aim of this Expression of Interest is to;

• Provide the market with visibility of the proposed opportunities;

• Support the CCGs decision making to inform the future commissioning of services (as applicable);

• To help refine the future commissioning and procurement approach and;

• To gauge the level of interest from the market of capable providers with capacity across the region to deliver the services illustrated above.

If you wish to express an interest please register on the EU Supply Portal https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp. The reference for this opportunity is Tender ID 38947.

Once registered please complete the questions in the qualification envelope which asks providers to give details about your organisation's name and postal address, email address, contact name and number along with your capability and experience of delivering similar services to those summarised above.

The deadline for Expressions of Interest responses is by 17:00 on Tuesday 3rd March 2020.

Following review of the feedback from the questionnaire a decision will be made on whether to hold an engagement event later in the year to offer an overview of the Commissioners intentions regarding any future opportunities, facilitate networking opportunities between all interested parties, help refine the commissioning approach and inform the development of the service specification. If an event is to be held it will most likely be in the week commencing 4th May 2020.

Bidders who have expressed an interest in this market testing exercise will have the opportunity to submit a separate response to any Contract Notice as applicable.

Please note this is a market testing exercise and does not commit the CCGs to carry out a procurement process. Current services will remain in place during this period in-line with existing contracts and service level agreements.