Notice Information
Notice Title
GP Clinical Assessment Service - Cat 3 & 4
Notice Description
Intention to award a Public Services Contract under Regulation 32(2) (b) (ii) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 for the provision of a GP Lead Clinical Assessment Service for Cat 3 & 4 - to allow for calls to the Urgent Care phone line to be assessed by GPs over the telephone, reducing the need for dispatching ambulances in cases where the medical need would be better served by a different clinical solution. Achieving an 80% downgrade rate. The Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication is being followed and is justified under Regulation 32 (2) (b) (ii).
Lot Information
Lot 1
As part of the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) remit to operate the 999 call service, it was identified that ambulances were being sent to patients that didn't need them, which otherwise could have been downgraded over the phone, reducing the need to dispatch an ambulance unnecessarily, and reducing the pressure and demand on the use of ambulances. An opportunity was identified whereby if there were suitably qualified clinical personnel to direct these calls to, this would save ambulance resource and as a result make a monetary saving for the Trust. This would result in calls coming in to the call centres being downgraded to Category 3s or 4s, and avoiding the need to dispatch an emergency ambulance to these patients. An initial one year pilot contract between SCAS & local commissioners was set up based on testing the viability and success of the required outcome. A pilot subcontract was set up between SCAS and their subcontractor provide a GP Clinical Assessment Service to support this opportunity. The existing contract is due to expire on 26th April 2023. The pilot has shown a huge benefit to SCAS - downgrade rates of 80%. As a result of the success with the pilot contract, an additional 18 month contract is required to fill the gap between current contract end date, and the current commissioned services expiry dates. If the contract expires with no replacement, SCAS and the public would experience a huge drop in service level, and an unnecessary dispatching of ambulances, putting further pressure on ambulance resources. The existing pilot contract provision is due to expire on 26th April 2023. Due to the short timescales involved, and the need for the service to be successfully operating immediately, SCAS conducted a tender process with a closed group of 5 existing subcontractor healthcare providers, that already provide these or very similar services to SCAS.
Procurement Information
The Negotiated Procedure without Prior Publication is being followed and is justified under Regulation 32 (2) (b) (ii) - Technical Reasons. 1. Technical reasons: The GP-led option consistently overachieves on the model of 80% downgrades of Cat 3 & 4 and 3 calls per hour. This needs to be maintained within the timescales available. 2. Economic reasons: The GP-led option is the most cost-effective and offers the best quality 3. Legal reasons: Potential TUPE risks exist and are currently being assessed Non-discriminatory decision: Five suppliers were invited to tender, and the evaluation process was transparent and fair.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-03b770
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/009338-2023
- Current Stage
- Award
- All Stages
- Award
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- Award Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Limited
- Procurement Method Details
- Negotiated without publication of a contract notice
- Tender Suitability
- Not specified
- Awardee Scale
- Large
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
85 - Health and social work services
-
- CPV Codes
85121100 - General-practitioner services
85141000 - Services provided by medical personnel
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- Not specified
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- £3,651,515 £1M-£10M
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 30 Mar 20232 years ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- Not specified
- Award Date
- 29 Mar 20232 years ago
- Contract Period
- Not specified - Not specified
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Complete
- Lots Status
- Not Specified
- Awards Status
- Active
- Contracts Status
- Active
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- SOUTH CENTRAL AMBULANCE SERVICE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
- Contact Name
- Julie Robins
- Contact Email
- julie.robins@scas.nhs.uk
- Contact Phone
- Not specified
Buyer Location
- Locality
- BICESTER
- Postcode
- OX26 6HR
- Post Town
- Oxford
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLJ South East (England)
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC
- Delivery Location
- TLJ South East (England)
-
- Local Authority
- Cherwell
- Electoral Ward
- Bicester South and Ambrosden
- Westminster Constituency
- Bicester and Woodstock
Further Information
Notice URLs
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.
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