Health and social work services

The delivery of a range of non-emergency patient transport services (NE PTS) for eligible patients, including a call handling, coordination and management service. for the purpose of this tender, the requirement will be split

into two (2) lots and bidders are at liberty to bid for one or both lots. Lot 1 will be for the call handling, coordination and management service and lot 2 for the transportation services. The NE PTS service is for essential transfer of eligible patients between the patient’s domicile, hospitals,community settings or other treatment centres including private treatment centres for patients referred for NHS treatments, consultations or procedures. This covers a range of vehicles and levels of care including staff on board who range from volunteer drivers, to ambulance vehicles staffed with health care professionals. The patients in scope for this requirement are from the following clinical commissioning groups:

• NHS Fareham and Gosport CCG;

• NHS North Hampshire CCG;

• NHS Portsmouth City CCG;

• NHS Southampton City CCG;

• NHS West Hampshire CCG;

• NHS South Eastern Hampshire CCG; and

• NHS Isle of Wight CCG.

For clarification, patients attending Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust sites are expected to come into contract from 2016. For the avoidance of doubt this procurement will exclude the following for whom contracts already exist:

• NHS Isle of Wight CCG patients attending healthcare services on the Isle of Wight;

• NHS North East Hampshire CCG patients;

• Patients from NHS North Hampshire CCG; and

• NHS South East Hampshire CCG attending Surrey Hospitals.

For further avoidance of doubt, generic primary care services do not form part of this procurement.

Non-emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) for NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB -Hampshire only.

Original (TED) Notice OJ S: 2014/S 097-170008

Original Term: 5 + 2 Years

Total value: £73,266,496.00 (including extensions)

Start: 01/10/2014

End: 30/09/2021

Expiry of the original contract (including extensions) was 30 September 2021

July 2020: contract extended for 6-month period. (Notice ref 2020/S 140-345707), new expiry date 31 March 22

July 2021: contract extended for 6+6 months. (Notice ref 2021/S 139-371421), new expiry date 31 March 23.

The existing contract expires 31/3/2023. This Modification Notice is for an additional 12 months to the incumbent provider from 01/04/2023 to 31/03/2024 under current terms & conditions. Following negotiations, an agreement has been reached to extend the contract with South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (the incumbent) initially until 31/03/2024. By extending, the ICB will have sufficient time to incorporate revised national documentation/guidance into the new service specification. Additionally, this will allow incorporation of lessons learnt from the pandemic & long term changes to patient behaviours, activity & overall needs.

Value for extension £13,817,183

Total value after modification £103,952,232

End: 31 March 24

Modification for 12 Months does not alter the overall nature of the contract & any cumulative increase does not exceed 50 % of the original contract value £73,266,496

The aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic & ongoing escalation of system pressures on all healthcare resources has brought about a number of new & significant risks that could not have been foreseen & which have further delayed the commissioners' detailed preparation & engagement for a full procurement of NEPTS, under PCR 2015 & The Public Procurement (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.

This has given rise to an urgent need to secure a safe continued provision via modification of the existing contract to mitigate these risks & maximise opportunities for the procurement process to deliver high quality, patient-centred & responsive Services, which provides value for money, is resilient, environmentally efficient & innovative in the use of information technology to communicate with users.

Accordingly, the contracting authority considers that the aftermath of the pandemic & ongoing escalation of system pressures on healthcare resources presents a state of urgency that is duly substantiated & brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority could not have foreseen. As discussed during market engagement, it should be noted that a further extension/modification, in addition to this 12 month extension, will be required to allow for timely completion of a procurement process. This will allow the ICB to undertake a full & proper procurement exercise to mitigate the risks that have been exposed.

The tender process for the new service is expected to commence during Q2 of 2023.

The service will continue to include:

• single point of access and& full booking service for patients and Health Care Professionals (HCPs)

• equitable and& consistent application of eligibility criteria to all patients and carers

• signposting patients not eligible, to alternative arrangements

• effective determination of mobility need/s

• allocation of journeys across sub-contracted transport providers through an equitable, open & transparent process

• effective communication & collaboration with system stakeholders

• coordination & management of all journeys

• timely reporting

The ICB is the successor entity (since 1st July 2022) of Fareham & Gosport, Isle of Wight, North Hampshire, South East Hampshire, West Hampshire, Southampton City & Portsmouth CCG