MARKET ENGAGEMENT - The Provision of Maternity Services from a Free-Standing Midwife-Led Unit (FMU) in Salford

NHS Shared Business Services, on behalf of NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), invites providers to a market engagement event for the provision of maternity services from a free-standing midwife-led unit (FMU) in Salford. The aim of the market engagement event will be to engage with potential providers for these services in order to share the commissioning intentions of the Contracting Authority, and to seek the input from providers on a number important aspects relating to the services, including the potential service model.

The event will be held on Wednesday 11th January 2017, exact timings, venue details and an agenda for the event will be supplied closer to the date.

This market engagement event will follow on from interested providers submitting RFI responses (RFI published separately on 24th November 2016) no later than Wednesday 4th January 2017, however submitting an RFI response is not a pre-requisite of attending the market engagement event.

The service will deliver midwife-led services in line with the service specification and as part of NHS Salford CCG's Maternity Pioneer status. New approaches to service delivery and collaborations between provider organisations will be particularly welcomed.

The service will have a public health ethos and contribute to NHS Salford CCG's overarching strategic objective to ensure that all children have the best start in life and continue to develop well during their early years.

The plans also include the FMU becoming a community resource featuring ante and post-natal groups and a range of other services that are synonymous with midwife-led care and the promotion of normalisation of birth. Of particular focus is how the service will be able to support our most vulnerable families and implement the early year's new delivery model.

To reserve your place please confirm your attendance by completing the attached form and returning to chris_gough@nhs.net by 5pm on 5th January 2017, providing details of the attendees from your organisation.

Any information provided by NHS Salford CCG in the course of this event would be made available to all interested parties responding to any future tendering opportunities. Please note that this exercise is not part of a selection process and is no indication of a commitment to participate in a procurement process nor does it infer any special status on those Providers who do submit an interest.

This notice does not commit NHS Salford CCG to undertake the procurement of The Provision of Maternity Services from a Free-Standing Midwife-Led Unit (FMU) in Salford and NHS Salford CCG has the right to withdraw the notice.