Award

Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service

NHS SUFFOLK AND NORTH EAST ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD

This public procurement record has 4 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

25 Jun 2025 at 10:39

Award

25 Mar 2025 at 12:31

Tender

07 Jun 2024 at 12:10

Planning

16 May 2024 at 10:45

Summary of the contracting process

The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board has initiated a procurement process for a Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service, aimed at improving health services in the UKH14 and UKH34 regions. This contract falls under the health services industry category and involves services such as eligibility assessment, call handling, booking, and the provision of safe, non-emergency transport for patients. The tender process follows the competitive procurement format stipulated in the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) and is governed by the Health Care Services Regulations 2023. The awarded contract is to span five years starting 1st April 2026, with the potential of a five-year extension. Most recently, an update confirmed the awarding of this contract using a selective method via a restricted procedure, following the completion of all procurement stages.

This procurement process offers significant opportunities for businesses, particularly those experienced in the health transport and logistics sector, to secure a long-term contract valued at approximately £139,616,350 over ten years. Firms with expertise in managing patient transportation and those capable of meeting the high standards of quality and innovation required by the NHS are well-positioned to benefit. Businesses interested in fostering integrated patient pathways and enhancing service sustainability will find this tender especially appealing, with the scope to influence elective care access and health inequality reduction within the region. The contracting process highlights the importance of collaboration and social value, presenting an opportunity for organisations looking to expand their role in the public health transport domain.

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Notice Title

Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service

Notice Description

The NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board are issuing this tender in connection with the competitive procurement of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services. The scope of the service will include assessment of eligibility, call handling, booking and the provision of safe non-emergency patient transport to eligible patients. The commissioners are looking to establish a contract for five (5) years with a potential extension period of up to five (5) years.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The aim of this procurement is to establish non-emergency patient transport services across the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) locality. The Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service (NEPTS) will be provided to all eligible patients within the locality. Currently over 13,500 journeys per month are undertaken. NEPTS are a key enabler underpinning access to elective care and supporting timely and efficient discharge processes for acute and community providers. As a partner within the system, the NEPTS provider will support improvements across the system, enabling patient choice and equitable access for elective care. National planning guidance breaks down the patient transport system into four core components. -triage and co-ordination -specialist services, which will require trained staff, often an adapted/specialist vehicle where the provider will be registered with the CQC. -non-specialist services, where a regular taxi or minibus is appropriate. -reimbursement for private or public transport, either as part of NEPTS or the Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme (HTCS). Consideration within these elements needs to be given to system relationships, improving integrated patient pathways including discharges, the wider transport system, including urgent services and local authority provision. The Contract will be for a term of 60 months (five years), with the possibility of extending the term for a period of 60 additional months (five years) beyond the initial contracted duration by agreement between the Authority and the Provider. The service is due to start on the 1st April 2026 with the first term ending on 31st March 2031, and the extension period would run from 1st April 2031 until 31st march 2036. The anticipated aggregate contract value is PS123,226,440. across the potential 10 years, but this figure is subject to the tender process. This notice is an Intention to Award notice under the competitive process for an existing service being awarded to a new provider. This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Contract Notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. Additional information: The Authority may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included in the Specification, at any given time. Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in the Contract Notice. To this end, the Bidder should be aware that after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the successful Bidder may be offered a variation to the contract in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

Options: There is the potential for this contract to be extended by a period of up to five (5) years, 60 months.

Renewal: There is the potential for this contract to be extended by a period of up to five (5) years, 60 months.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-045a0c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035007-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Planning Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Selective
Procurement Method Details
Restricted procedure
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85100000 - Health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£139,616,350 £100M-£1B

Notice Dates

Publication Date
25 Jun 20258 months ago
Submission Deadline
12 Jul 2024Expired
Future Notice Date
6 Jun 2024Expired
Award Date
25 Mar 202511 months ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS SUFFOLK AND NORTH EAST ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD
Contact Name
Jane Garnett
Contact Email
jane.garnett@snee.nhs.uk
Contact Phone
+44 1473770000

Buyer Location

Locality
IPSWICH
Postcode
IP1 2BX
Post Town
Ipswich
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH6 Suffolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH62 Ipswich
Delivery Location
TLH14 Suffolk CC, TLH34 Essex Haven Gateway

Local Authority
Ipswich
Electoral Ward
Gipping
Westminster Constituency
Ipswich

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

HEALTH TRANSPORTATION GROUP

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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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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