Award

Assisted Discharge Service

NHS BEDFORDSHIRE, LUTON AND MILTON KEYNES INTEGRATED CARE BOARD

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

13 Mar 2026 at 11:41

Summary of the contracting process

The procurement process details an intention to award the contract for the Assisted Discharge Service under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR), overseen by the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (BLMK ICB). The service, classified under the Community health services (CPV code: 85323000), aims to support patients post hospital discharge, promoting independent living through various non-medical interventions. The procurement method employed is limited, without prior publication of a call for competition. Representations are accepted until midnight on the 25th of March 2026. The contract, valued at £158,366, is set to begin on the 1st of April 2026 for one year, following approval by the BLMK ICB Chiefs in September 2025. The geographical focus includes Bedford and Central Bedfordshire regions.

This tender represents a significant opportunity for businesses involved in community health services, particularly those specialising in post-discharge patient care and independent living support. With the prime work being the Assisted Discharge Service, companies with expertise in reablement programmes, home care support, and patient retention strategies are suitably positioned to make a substantial impact. The decision to award an existing provider, namely the British Red Cross, highlights the need to satisfy the original contract requirements. SMEs committed to improving patient experience, reducing re-admission rates, and facilitating access to community-based services could find growth opportunities through similar healthcare service contracts in future procurement processes.

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Notice Title

Assisted Discharge Service

Notice Description

The Assisted Discharge Service ensures that individuals are supported in the short term (from 24 hours up to a maximum period of six weeks) following a stay in hospital, attendance at Accident and Emergency or following a planned surgical or medical procedure as an inpatient or outpatient.

Lot Information

Lot 1

The service has the following objectives:
*Support early facilitated patient discharge from hospital - following an attendance at Accident and Emergency; an acute inpatient stay or a planned surgical procedure.
*Offer flexible, tailored levels of support once the patient returns home, which promotes and sustains independent living.
*Offers non-medical interventions to patients following discharge from hospital to enable them to remain at home and prevent readmission due to lack of basic home support.
*Help to reduce further hospital readmissions by supporting those people who have recently been discharged from hospital to receive longer term support when required.
*To provide a programme of reablement focusing on skills for individual's daily living, that enables them to live more independently and reduce the need for ongoing support.
*Facilitates service user access into other voluntary and community based services that enables them to feel socially active and improves their capacity for independent living.
*Support annual health and social care campaigns such as reducing excess winter deaths, including seasonal flu vaccination campaign
*Improve patient experience and levels of confidence.

The expected outcomes of the Hospital Aftercare Service are:
*Clients report that their confidence to remain at home and live independently has increased
*That clients report good service satisfaction after a period of intervention from the service.
*A reduction in the number of bed days required by clients accessing the service
*A reduction in the use of hospital transport home following discharge
*An increase in the numbers of early facilitated patient discharges from hospital
*To maintain or reduce the percentage of patients that have a re-admission to hospital.

BLMK ICB are intending to award a contract an existing provider following direct award process C for the following:

Assisted Discharge Service

The contract is for a period of 1 year from 1st April 2026.

The expected lifetime value of the contract is PS158,366.

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 decision makers by midnight 25th March 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded: this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR. Any written representations should be sent to agem.blmkicb.tntracker@nhs.net.<br/><br/>The BLMK ICB Chiefs (Executives) gave approval of this in September 2025 at the scheduled Chiefs (Executives) Meeting. Conflicts of interests have been managed in line with the ICB's Conflicts of Interest and Standards of Business Conduct Policy.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-066997
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/022880-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award 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
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85323000 - Community health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£158,366 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
13 Mar 2026Yesterday
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
2 Mar 20261 weeks 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
Post Town
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
TLH24 Bedford

Local Authority
Central Bedfordshire
Electoral Ward
Shefford
Westminster Constituency
Hitchin

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

BRITISH RED CROSS

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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