North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) are working for and on behalf of NHS South Tyneside Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and wish to undertake procurement for the provision of a Social Navigator Service for the South Tyneside locality.

The aim of the service is to improve the quality of care to older people in the community which will provide the following benefits:

— More effective management of elderly patients in community settings; including the patient's home, improving the quality of life and allowing them to live independently for longer;

— A raised awareness of the provision of voluntary and 3rd sector organisation and the roll they can play in helping patients care for themselves in the community;

— Increased provision of support to primary care colleagues, helping to manage elderly patients in the community;

— Increased utilisation of voluntary and 3rd sector organisation within South Tyneside;

— Prevention of admissions to secondary care for reasons of social isolation;

— Reduce the amount of time spent avoidably in hospital;

— Better co-ordinated community care;

— Full integration into locality integrated teams; and

— Promotion of a Better U.

The basic principles of the open procurement route will be followed for this procurement to test the capacity, capability and technical competence of Tenderers in accordance with Part B regime of The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended). Regulation 120 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 provides for a temporary exemption for NHS healthcare procurements before 18.4.2016.

NECS is utilising an electronic tendering system to manage this procurement and communicate with potential providers. Accordingly, there will be no hard copy documents issued to potential providers and all communications with NECS, including your tender submission, will be conducted via the portal https://In-tendhost.co.uk/necs hosted by (In-Tend), the managed service provider for the NECS electronic tendering system.

Express Interest:

To express an interest in tendering for this service, please register on the electronic tendering portal, which can be found at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/necs

Once registered, you will be able to view details of the tender opportunity by selecting the ‘Tenders’ tab, and then selecting ‘Current’, scroll down through the tender lists until you come to ‘Social Navigator Service for South Tyneside’. To view further information on this specific tender opportunity, click the button marked ‘View Details’. From this area, you will be able to express your interest in this tender opportunity by selecting the button marked ‘Express Interest’.

Please note that it is free to register on the portal, which can be accessed at any time of day as long as you have a working internet connection.

If you require further assistance, a help guide can be found on the portal by clicking on the tab marked ‘Guidance for Suppliers’. Alternatively, (should potential providers have any queries) a dedicated helpdesk is available and can be contacted on +44 8442728810 Monday to Friday 8:00 to 17:00 or email: support@in-tend.co.uk

Please note: The closing date for receipt of tenders is 12 noon on Thursday 3.12.2015.