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Neighbourhood Health Optimisation Service (NHOS)

NHS NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK INTEGRATED CARE BOARD

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

25 Sep 2026 at 13:39

Planning Notice
Summary of the contracting process

NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board is seeking provider partners to help develop the first-phase business case for a Neighbourhood Health Optimisation Service. The proposed primary-care-led service would use population health analysis to identify people, initially aged 65 and over, whose risk of unplanned hospital admission is rising but may still be reduced. It would plan earlier, coordinated action to address reversible clinical and social risks, aiming to prevent deterioration, frailty, crisis presentations and avoidable use of hospital, ambulance, primary care and social care services. The work covers service design, patient identification and access, clinical standards, primary care delivery, workforce planning, mobilisation, financial modelling, performance and evaluation, governance, data and digital needs, risk planning and evidence of engagement. Delivery would be across Norfolk and Waveney.

This is a planning-stage engagement to find development partners, not a tender for delivery of the eventual health service. Interested providers are invited to contribute to a jointly developed, costed Phase 1 business case; the buyer expects a subsequent procurement to be considered separately if funding is secured. The buyer expects that any later procurement would follow the Provider Selection Regime. Expressions of interest for the development-partner engagement are expected by 16 October 2026, and a subsequent notice is forecast for 4 January 2027. Providers would take part under a memorandum of understanding, with each party meeting its own engagement costs; no payment, reimbursement or minimum income is offered for this work. The business case must address operational deliverability, affordability, safety and mobilisation at scale.

This preparatory work is best suited to organisations able to shape and cost a primary-care-led health service and contribute meaningfully to its clinical, operational, workforce and financial design. The buyer requires a legal entity able to hold an NHS Standard Contract for primary-care-led services, established support from or delivery relationships with GP practices across a substantial proportion of primary care networks, and experience delivering services at scale in Norfolk and Waveney. Providers must be able to commit clinical, operational and finance staff to joint business-case development at their own cost, including authorised representatives for project-group participation. Relevant strengths include service and workforce modelling, local mobilisation planning, open-book financial modelling, clinical governance, safeguarding, information governance and evaluation. The work offers providers a role in informing the service model and delivery assumptions before any separately governed decision on a funded service procurement. No accreditation is stated as a requirement.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Neighbourhood Health Optimisation Service (NHOS)

Notice Description

The Neighbourhood Health Optimisation Service (NHOS) is proposed to test a standardised, at-scale primary care led approach to identifying and addressing reversible risk of unplanned admission to hospital, initially in patients aged 65 and over, while their risk is still modifiable. By using Population Health Management to identify people with medium/high rising and reversible risk, the NHOS can intervene before people deteriorate, become frail or deconditioned, present in crisis, or require avoidable acute, ambulance, primary care and social care input.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Across Norfolk and Waveney, there are identifiable groups of people whose health is not being optimised consistently. Long-term conditions are not always managed to the best possible standard, and modifiable or reversible clinical and social risk factors are not always identified and acted on early enough to prevent deterioration. There is significant variation between practices, Primary Care Networks and Places in how effectively proactive population health management is delivered. As a result, patients with similar levels of need may receive different levels of identification, engagement, review, intervention and follow-up depending on where they are registered. This variation is likely to contribute to avoidable deterioration and greater use of unplanned care, including emergency admissions and bed days that could potentially have been prevented if the system had used the information already available to intervene earlier. Population Health Management analysis shows that a relatively small proportion of the population accounts for a disproportionately large share of unplanned activity. It also identifies a larger group whose risk is rising but remains modifiable, creating a significant opportunity for earlier intervention. The ICB has an increasingly sophisticated Population Health Management capability to identify people whose clinical risk of unplanned admission to hospital is rising and potentially reversible. However, there is not currently a consistent delivery mechanism at sufficient scale to systematically engage those patients, coordinate appropriate interventions and track whether their risk subsequently reduces following intervention. The Neighbourhood Health Optimisation Service (NHOS) is proposed to test a standardised, at-scale primary care led approach to identifying and addressing reversible risk of unplanned admission to hospital, initially in patients aged 65 and over, while their risk is still modifiable. By using Population Health Management to identify people with medium/high rising and reversible risk, the NHOS can intervene before people deteriorate, become frail or deconditioned, present in crisis, or require avoidable acute, ambulance, primary care and social care input. Purpose of this notice The ICB is looking to invite providers to participate in the development of the NHOS Phase 1 business case as development partners. A credible, costed business case to support the implementation of Phase 1 of NHOS cannot be produced by the ICB alone. It needs a provider perspective on the operating model, the workforce that can realistically be recruited and deployed in Norfolk and Waveney, mobilisation timescales, and the true cost of delivery. Scope of services The ICB is seeking development partners to work collaboratively with the ICB and relevant system partners to develop a robust and costed business case for Phase 1 of the Neighbourhood Health Optimisation Service. The business case will need to be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate that the proposed service is clinically credible, operationally deliverable, affordable, safe and capable of mobilisation at the required scale. The development partner will help with the development of the following: * Service specification and operating model * Patient identification and access * Clinical model and standards * Workforce and capacity plan * Primary care delivery arrangements * Mobilisation and implementation plan * Open-book financial model * Activity, capacity and demand assumptions * Outcomes and performance framework: * Evaluation and benefits realisation: * Quality, clinical governance and safeguarding * Information governance, data and digital requirements * Risk and contingency arrangements * Engagement and co-design evidence The development partner will be required to participate in the joint Project Group, including attendance by appropriately authorised clinical, operational, financial and commercial representatives; completion of agreed actions; early notification of issues; maintenance of accurate assumptions and risks; and contribution to drafting and quality assuring the business case. The ICB will retain ownership of the overall business case and responsibility for defining the commissioning requirement, confirming strategic fit, providing or validating population and baseline information, assessing affordability and value for money, completing relevant quality and equality assurance, managing conflicts of interest and obtaining all required approvals. Provider Eligibility Providers will meet the following criteria: * A legal entity capable of holding an NHS Standard Contract for primary care led services; * Demonstrable support from, or established delivery relationships with, GP practices across a substantial proportion of PCNs; * Experience of delivering at-scale, primary care led services in Norfolk and Waveney; * Capacity to commit clinical, operational and finance resource to the work at the provider's own cost. Each party will meet its own costs of engaging and supporting the business case development; no payment, reimbursement or minimum income will be payable A Memorandum of Understanding signed by the participating provider(s) and Norfolk and Suffolk ICB will underpin the period of engagement Once the business case is developed appropriate governance will need to be undertaken to secure the funding. If funding is secured the ICB will work through the procurement options available to it and a provider selection process will be undertaken separately in accordance with the applicable legal and regulatory requirements. This Prior Information Notice is to alert potential development partners to this opportunity and to request that they express an interest. To express an interest in this opportunity please contact nsicb.procurement@nhs.net prior to the 16th October 2026. For the avoidance of doubt no additional information or documents are available on the Norfolk and Suffolk website or on Atamis. The deadline for completed expressions of interest to this PIN is midnight on 16th October 2026. Additional information: The intention is that any subsequent procurement process will be undertaken within the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). Any related procurement process will be governed by the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this process. The Authorities 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 contract, at any given time. Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in any 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.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-077a9c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091011-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Planning Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

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
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
25 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
4 Jan 20273 months to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK 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
NORWICH
Postcode
NR1 2DH
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
TLH14 Suffolk CC, TLH15 Norwich and East Norfolk, TLH16 North and West Norfolk, TLH17 Breckland and South Norfolk
Local Authority
Norwich
Electoral Ward
Lakenham
Westminster Constituency
Norwich South

Further Information

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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