---
title: "Market Engagement Event for the Provision of Non-Emergency Patient Transport (NEPTS)"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0795ba"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0795ba"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0795ba.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0795ba.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board"
published: "2026-11-02"
---

# Market Engagement Event for the Provision of Non-Emergency Patient Transport (NEPTS)

Buyer: NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0795ba

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0795ba)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0795ba.json)

## Summary

NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board and NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Boards intend to procure non-emergency patient transport services across Lancashire and Cumbria. The service scope covers planned transport for routine outpatient appointments, unplanned journeys for patient discharges and short-notice bookings, and enhanced priority transport for time-critical haemodialysis and oncology appointments. This is patient transport and ambulance-related work, rather than emergency ambulance response. NHS Shared Business Services and the NHS 111 Ambulance and Commissioning Team will support the procurement. The proposed service model is intended to cover a range of patient transport needs across the two areas, with participation envisaged from providers able to deliver all or part of the service.

The process is at the planning stage: the commissioners have announced an intention to procure, but have not issued an invitation to tender. They expect to use a competitive process under the Provider Selection Regime. A market engagement event is planned for 13 November 2026, 10am to noon, at County Hall, Fishergate, Preston; registration is requested by 9 November 2026 at noon. The commissioners expect a further procurement notice on 15 February 2027. Engagement is voluntary and does not form part of the later procurement; attendance or non-attendance will not affect eligibility to compete. The event is intended to gather market views on service delivery, the proposed model and contract structure, mobilisation, performance measures, barriers to participation and innovation.

The market engagement is aimed at organisations interested in providing all or part of the patient transport services, including potential lead providers, delivery partners and subcontractors. It may suit operators with experience in planned outpatient journeys, patient discharge transport, short-notice bookings, or time-critical journeys to haemodialysis and oncology treatment. The commissioners particularly encourage organisations to bring operational, commercial and mobilisation perspectives, so suppliers able to discuss how services can be organised and launched across Lancashire and Cumbria will be well placed to contribute. They are seeking feedback on delivery challenges, service design, contract structure and performance measures, as well as ideas that could improve provision. The commissioners also want to understand market interest and barriers to participation, with the aim of supporting a competitive future procurement. No particular accreditation or qualification is identified at this planning stage.

## Notice

Market Engagement NHS Lancashire & South Cumbria and NHS North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Boards will be launching a procurement for the Provision of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) across Lancashire and Cumbria. The procurement will be supported by NHS Shared Business Services and NHS 111 Ambulance and Commissioning Team. The scope of services will include: * Planned Patient Transport: Routine transport for outpatient appointments * Unplanned Patient Transport: Transport for patient discharges and short-notice bookings * Enhanced Priority Service Transport: Time-critical transport for patients attending haemodialysis or oncology treatments. The Integrated Care Boards are pleased to invite prospective providers to participate in a market engagement exercise relating to the future of NEPTS. As part of this process, organisations are invited to view the available market engagement collateral published on SAP Ariba portal. The portal also includes a messaging function to allow providers to submit questions to the authorities. The portal is available via the following link: https://portal.us.bn.cloud.ariba.com/dashboard/public/appext/comsapsbncdiscoveryui#/RfxEvent/preview/1110029915?anId=ANONYMOUS The authorities are hosting a market engagement event which is open to organisations interested in delivering all or part of the proposed services, including potential lead providers, delivery partners and subcontractors. Organisations are encouraged to nominate representatives with operational, commercial and mobilisation experience. The event aims to: Facilitate discussions between commissioners and the market to better understand service delivery challenges and opportunities. Gather feedback on the proposed service model, contract structure, mobilisation requirements and performance measures. Understand market interest across the Lancashire and Cumbria. Identify barriers to participation and opportunities to promote a competitive procurement process. Encourage innovation and best practice in the delivery of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services. Provide guidance to providers on how to take part in the process. The topics outlined above are intended as a guide and are not intended to limit discussion. Attendees will have the opportunity to raise additional issues and considerations relevant to the proposed procurement. Participation in the market engagement exercise is voluntary and forms no part of any subsequent procurement process. Attendance, non-attendance, completion of the questionnaire, or non-completion of the questionnaire will not affect an organisation's ability to participate in any future procurement opportunity. Event Details: Date: Friday 13 November 2026 Time: 10.00 - 12.00 Location: County Hall, Fishergate, Preston, PR1 8XJ If you wish to attend the event, please complete the registration at the following link by Monday 9 November 2026 by 12 noon: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/BkPfJ1Qe0E Further event details will be provided to registered attendees in advance of the event. We look forward to your participation.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The intention is for this procurement to be conducted as a competitive process under the Provider Selection Regime.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/103799-2026 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 2 Nov 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 15 Feb 2027 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planned |
| Lots status | Planned |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board |
| Locality | PRESTON |
| Postcode area | Preston |
| Postcode | PR1 8XB |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLD North West (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLD4 Lancashire |
| ITL 3 | TLD45 Mid Lancashire |
| Local authority | Preston |
| Electoral ward | City Centre |
| Westminster constituency | Preston |
| Delivery location | TLD1 Cumbria, TLD4 Lancashire |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85100000 - Health services
- 85143000 - Ambulance services

## Release History

- 2 Nov 2026 at 14:47 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/103799-2026

## Notice URLs

- https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/BkPfJ1Qe0E
- https://portal.us.bn.cloud.ariba.com/dashboard/public/appext/comsapsbncdiscoveryui#/RfxEvent/preview/1110029915?anId=ANONYMOUS
- https://www.lancashireandsouthcumbria.icb.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-0795ba. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0795ba.json.