This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

TenderUpdate

18 Aug 2026 at 11:04

Award

25 Oct 2024 at 15:05

Summary of the contracting process

NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board procured integrated urgent care services across Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes. The requirement covers NHS 111 telephone and online access, including interactive voice response, remote triage and clinical assessment supported by NHS Pathways or agreed clinical protocols. It also covers a 24-hour clinical assessment service with GPs and a multidisciplinary team, and GP out-of-hours care for NHS 111 dispositions. Care may be delivered remotely by telephone or video, or face to face from treatment centres and in patients’ homes. Providers must support clinical records, access to patient GP records and links to other services, including mental health crisis teams. The procurement is categorised as health services.

The contract was formally awarded to Herts Urgent Care under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, using direct award process C without prior publication of a competition. The award date was 27 September 2024 and the contract runs from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2028. Its value is £41,493,330 over the term, while the earlier approximate lifetime estimate was £40.6 million plus activity growth, cost inflation and efficiencies. The award covers the integrated urgent care requirement as a single lot. Evaluation was based entirely on quality: the existing provider’s satisfactory performance and likely ability to meet the proposed contract received 100%, with price weighted at 0%. The notice records one bid and an active contract.

This award indicates sustained demand for a large, integrated urgent care operation rather than a standalone call-handling service. Competitors seeking similar NHS work would need to combine NHS 111 telephone and online triage with clinical assessment, GP out-of-hours provision and coordination with primary care. Credible capability would include operating a multidisciplinary clinical workforce, with senior GP cover and access to nurses, pharmacists, dental nurses, mental health nurses and palliative care nurses according to demand. Providers would also need reliable clinical governance, NHS Pathways or equivalent decision-support capability, interactive voice response and clinical record systems, plus the ability to deliver telephone, video, treatment-centre and home visits. Experience demonstrating safe, effective delivery and continuity of an existing service would be particularly important because quality, rather than price, determined this award.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

BLMK ICB Integrated Urgent Care (111 & Out of Hours) Service

Notice Description

Integrated Urgent Care (NHS111, Clinical Assessment Service, GP OoH's) services:<br/>Integrated Urgent Care Services are inextricably linked to delegated primary care commissioned services and have been considered together when determining a sustainable approach for provision within BLMK.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Integrated Urgent Care (NHS111, Clinical Assessment Service, GP OoH's) services. Integrated Urgent Care Services are inextricably linked to delegated primary care commissioned services and have been considered together when determining a sustainable approach for provision within BLMK. The transformation of IUC directly impacts core general practice and primary services, specifically same day and urgent general practice and vice versa. National policy developments including the development of unscheduled care coordination hubs has been an important consideration as the services are delivered against a national NHSE Service Specification as follows: NHS111 is a remote triage service accessed via telephone or online. Both services use a Clinical Decision Support System called NHS Pathways, to support the remote assessment of callers to 111 or 999, or visitors to NHS111 Online. The 111-telephony service uses an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. This provides an initial filter to direct callers along the appropriate pathway within the NHS111 process. It can also connect callers directly with another service such as a Mental Health Crisis Team. The CAS contains an MDT, with at least one senior responsible GP available 24/7 with additional GPs rostered according to demand. Working with them, also rostered according to demand and local need are specialists such as advanced nurse practitioners, pharmacists, dental nurses, mental health nurses and palliative care nurses. During consultations, CAS clinicians will use a Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS) or an agreed clinical protocol to complete the episode on the telephone where possible. The GP OoH's service manages all Primary Care Dispositions that have resulted from the NHS111 process during the GP Practice out of hours periods (18:30 to 08:00 weekdays and all day at weekends and Bank Holidays). This is for both NHS111 telephony and NHS111 Online outcomes. The service is delivered both remotely and face to face. Remote assessment will be by telephone and video if available (GP Triage). Face to face services will be delivered from bases known as IUC Treatment Centres (Base Visit) and in patients' homes (Home Visit). GP OoH's services will use a Clinical System to record all episodes of care and will have access to Patient GP Records. The ICB are intending to award a contract an existing provider following direct award process C and the approximate lifetime value of the contract is PS40.6m plus activity growth, cost inflation and efficiencies. The services are intended to be provided for a period of three years from 01st October 2025 to 30th September 2028.

Procurement Information

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award 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. The publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by midnight of 06th November 2024. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR'.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04b175
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/078441-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Tender, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
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
£40,600,000 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Aug 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
27 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
NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
BEDFORDSHIRE
Postcode
SG17 5TQ
Postcode Area
Stevenage
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH25 Central Bedfordshire
Delivery Location
TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire

Local Authority
Central Bedfordshire
Electoral Ward
Shefford
Westminster Constituency
Hitchin

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Herts Urgent Care

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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