---
title: "GP Clinical Assessment Service - Cat 3 & 4"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-04dcd6"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04dcd6"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04dcd6.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04dcd6.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "SOUTH CENTRAL AMBULANCE SERVICE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST"
published: "2025-02-07"
---

# GP Clinical Assessment Service - Cat 3 & 4

Buyer: SOUTH CENTRAL AMBULANCE SERVICE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-04dcd6

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## Summary

The South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust intends to award a contract using the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 for a GP Clinical Assessment Service - Category 3 & 4. This service aims to enable urgent care line calls to be assessed by GPs over the phone, significantly reducing unnecessary ambulance dispatches. The contract is set to be awarded via the Direct Award Process C, with an initial mandatory standstill period until 19th February 2025. The current contract ends on 31st March 2025, with a new contract running from 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026, and an option to extend for a further year to 31st March 2027.

This tender provides substantial opportunities for SMEs, particularly those specialised in healthcare services. Businesses providing GP assessment and consultancy services would be well-suited to compete, given the need to support urgent care lines and reduce ambulance demand. Winning this contract would aid the successful supplier in forming a strategic partnership with the NHS and demonstrate their capability in delivering critical health services across the South Central region.

## Notice

Intention to award a Contract under THE HEALTH CARE SERVICES (PROVIDER SELECTION REGIME) REGULATIONS 2023 - Direct Award Process C for the provision of a GP Lead Clinical Assessment Service for Category 3 & 4 - to allow for calls to the Urgent Care phone line to be assessed by GPs over the telephone, reducing the need for dispatching ambulances in cases where the medical need would be better served by a different clinical solution. Achieving an 80% downgrade rate.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

As part of the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) remit to operate the 999 call service, it was identified that ambulances were being sent to patients that didn't need them, which otherwise could have been downgraded over the phone, reducing the need to dispatch an ambulance unnecessarily, and reducing the pressure and demand on the use of ambulances. A subcontract was set up between SCAS and their subcontractor to provide a GP Clinical Assessment Service to support this. The existing contract is due to expire on 31st March 2025. The contract has shown a huge benefit to SCAS - downgrade rates of 80%. As a result of the success of the contract, an additional one year contract is required from 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026, with an option to extend for a further additional year. to 31st March 2027. If the contract expires with no replacement, SCAS and the public would experience a huge drop in service level, and an unnecessary dispatching of ambulances, putting further pressure on ambulance resources.

Options: One additional optional extension year is allowable as part of this contract placement.

### Procurement Information

The contract falls under the THE HEALTH CARE SERVICES (PROVIDER SELECTION REGIME) REGULATIONS 2023.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004198-2025 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 7 Feb 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 6 Feb 2025 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £2,733,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | SOUTH CENTRAL AMBULANCE SERVICE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST |
| Locality | BICESTER |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode | OX26 6HR |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC |
| Local authority | Cherwell |
| Electoral ward | Bicester South and Ambrosden |
| Westminster constituency | Bicester and Woodstock |
| Delivery location | TLJ South East (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | EAST BERKSHIRE PRIMARY CARE OUT OF HOURS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85121100 - General-practitioner services

## Release History

- 7 Feb 2025 at 14:44 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/004198-2025

## Notice URLs

- http://www.scas.nhs.uk

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-04dcd6. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-04dcd6.json.