Children and Young People (11-17) Specialist Autism Assessment and Diagnosis Service, and Neurodevelopment Disorder Referral Backlog Screening in Suffolk (excluding Waveney)

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

05 Dec 2024 at 16:05

Award

03 Oct 2024 at 10:05

Tender

09 Jul 2024 at 10:05

Summary of the contracting process

Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust, on behalf of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT), has completed a procurement process to find a qualified partner for providing specialist Autism Assessments and Diagnosis Services, and Neurodevelopment Disorder (NDD) assessments for children and young people aged 11 to 17 in Suffolk (excluding Waveney). The awarded contract applies to the healthcare sector, specifically in East Anglia, with the procurement method being an open procedure under the Provider Selection Regime Regulations 2023. Key decision makers included Steven Worley (Head of Procurement), Jo Zenzer (Contract Manager), and Fiona Whitfield (Deputy Service Director – Suffolk Children, Families and Young Persons Services). The formal award notice was published on 5th December 2024.

The tender provides significant business growth opportunities, particularly for firms specialising in health services, consultancy, or multidisciplinary assessments. Companies with expertise in autism and neurodevelopmental disorder assessments, as well as experience in working with children and young people, are well-suited to compete for this contract opportunity. The awarded contract, worth approximately £229,000, is divided into two lots, focusing on specialist autism assessments and addressing the NDD referral backlog, respectively, ensuring comprehensive support and thorough assessments for young individuals requiring these services. The service will be delivered with the provision of clinical spaces in Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds, operating from Monday to Friday, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm, with flexibility for weekends if necessary.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

Children and Young People (11-17) Specialist Autism Assessment and Diagnosis Service, and Neurodevelopment Disorder Referral Backlog Screening in Suffolk (excluding Waveney)

Notice Description

Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust, on behalf of the Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust (NSFT) is seeking a qualified and capable service partner to provide specialist Children and Young People (11-17) Autism Assessments and Diagnosis Services, and Children and Young People (11-17) Neurodevelopment Disorder (NDD) assessments in Suffolk (excluding Waveney). Full details of the tender opportunity can be located via the original F02 Contract Notice (FTS Notice reference: 2024/S 000-020859). Tenders were awarded against the five key criteria outlined in the PSR Guidance. Decision makers for this procurement were: Steven Worley - Head of Procurement Jo Zenzer - Contract Manager Fiona Whitfield - Deputy Service Director - Suffolk Children, Families and Young Persons Services

Lot Information

Children and Young People (11-17) Specialist Autism Assessment and Diagnosis Services

The Service is to be provided for children and young people between the ages of 11 up to 18th birthday who have been identified as requiring an ASD assessment by a professional referral i.e., GP, School, SENCo. Service description and care pathway The service is for Children and Young People aged 11- 17 who require an autism assessment following primary care pre assessment screening and referral. * The service will provide a comprehensive needs led Autism assessment and diagnosis where indicated followed by a report and signposting for support for patients. * Empower the patient and family to understand their needs. This will include VCSE and SEN needs identified and recommendations i.e., psycho- educational advice given about the identified need and how the family can start to get the need supported. * A multi-disciplinary needs led assessment based on review of EHCP, educational psychology assessment, other professional reports i.e., OT/SLT. Gaining information from the school environment. Meet with parent and child to complete assessment while considering differential diagnosis. * For patient identified as autistic provide the diagnosis and identify the unmet needs and recommend how these can be supported. * Patients identified with additional needs i.e., mental health or other neurodevelopmental presenting difficulties to complete an onward referral and/or signposting as appropriate. * For patients who are not diagnosed with autism signpost to resources to for their unmet needs identified in assessment such as making recommendations for the family and/or school to consider. * Utilise evidence-based assessment tools and an approach that is grounded in evidence based best practice for the YP being assessed. * To ensure communication is in place with the CYP, their family the GP and referrer where appropriate Location of service delivered The location of the service will be Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds with the provision of suitable clinical space provided by the provider of the service. This will include space to store essential materials and equipment, 2 clinic rooms per site with the capacity for 2 service users and 2 clinicians per room. Service delivery hours of operation The service will operate at least Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm with weekend flexibility to meet user's needs. Standards and guidance The service will comply with all relevant national standards and recommendations as detailed in. * The Autism Act 2009 * National Strategy for autistic children, young people, and adults, 2021 * Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral, and diagnosis Clinical guideline [CG128] Published: 28 September 2011 Last updated: 20 December 2017 * NICE guideline [NG197] Shared decision-making learning package, June 2021 * NHS England national framework to deliver improved

Neurodevelopment Disorder Referral Backlog in Suffolk (excluding Waveney)

Service description and care pathway The service is for Children and Young People aged 0- 18yrs who have been referred for a NDD assessment following primary care pre assessment screening and referral. * The service will provide a clinical review of patient referral information and comprehensive screening of referrals based on ICD-11 criteria to identify if ASD or ADHD or both are indicated to be assessed. Clinically appropriate patients considering other developmental/differential factors that may be influencing current need will then be passed to an assessment service. * Empower the patient and family to understand their needs via the outcome letter. This will include VCSE and SEN needs identified and recommendations i.e., psycho- educational advice given about the identified need and how the family can start to get the need supported if ASD or ADHD not identified. * Screening based on review of referral form and supporting information ie EHCP, educational psychology assessment, other professional reports i.e., OT/SLT. Contact with school/ parent and child / referrer if further information required to make the assessment while considering differential diagnosis. * Children and young people identified with additional needs i.e. mental health, learning difficulties or other neurodevelopmental presenting difficulties to complete an onward referral and/or signposting as appropriate. * For patients who are not identified as requiring ASD/ADHD assessment signpost to resources for their unmet needs identified in assessment such as making recommendations for the family and/or school to consider. * To identify if the CYP is requiring an ASD or ADHD or both assessments. To provide a clinical rationale as to which assessment is needed. If both are needed, to identify which presentation is most prominent and should happen first. To inform the referrer, copy to GP and family, and NSFT of the screening outcome (including rationale for assessment or why an assessment is not indicated). * To signpost to other services such as educational support or assessment, mental health support, family-based support when this is indicated, for both those accepted and not accepted for an assessment. * To alert the local authority, referrer, family and NSFT to any identified safeguarding concerns. To take responsibility for making any safeguarding referrals to the Suffolk County Council. To clearly document all processes followed, copied to NSFT and GP. * To use professionally registered clinicians knowledgeable and experienced in the presentation of social communication, learning/educational, mental health, systemic/familial and sensory needs of people with and without NDD. * For screening clinicians to routinely have access to appropriate supervision and wider discussion with other clinicians when needed. * The service will follow the highest standards of data protection and data governance to ensure data confidentiality and security. * Utilise evidence-based screening tools * To ensure communication is in place with the CYP, their family, the GP and referrer where appropriate. * The service will have the capacity to screen 1800 referrals within 12 weeks of start of contract Location of service delivered. The location of the service will be Suffolk with the provision of suitable space provided by the provider of the service (OR a virtual offer) and will operate at least Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm with weekend flexibility to meet user's needs. Standards and guidance The service will comply with all relevant national standards and recommendations as detailed in the service specification. Additional information: To respond to this opportunity please click here: https://www.delta-esourcing.com/respond/5G9AE7B5HC

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-047bcc
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/039300-2024
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open 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
£340,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
£332,000 £100K-£500K
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£229,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
5 Dec 20241 years ago
Submission Deadline
7 Aug 2024Expired
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
30 Sep 20241 years 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
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
NORWICH
Postcode
NR6 5BE
Postcode Area
Norwich
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH5 Norfolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH51 Norwich and East Norfolk
Delivery Location
TLH1 East Anglia

Local Authority
Broadland
Electoral Ward
Hellesdon North West
Westminster Constituency
Norwich North

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

ICS Operations Ltd

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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