This Contract Notice provides information pertaining to the procurement for Integrated Urgent Care Services for 16 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) within the West Midlands. This Contract Notice follows a Prior Information Notice (OJEU reference: 2015/S 226-411447) that was issued on 18.11.2015.

NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group on behalf of 16 CCGs of the West Midlands (collectively referred to as ‘the Commissioners’) wish to commission an Integrated Urgent Care model comprising NHS 111 access and integrated GP led Out of Hours (OOH) services. This will be a pivotal service for the local urgent care health and social care economies in the West Midlands and will need to be able to work at a regional and local level in helping patients access the right care at the right time.

In response to recent developments in national policy, as published in the Commissioning Standards issued on Integrated Urgent Care (September 2015), the Commissioners are looking to deliver a functionally integrated 24/7 urgent care service that is the ‘front door’ of the NHS providing access to both treatment and clinical advice. This will include NHS 111 providers and GP led OOH services with links to community services, ambulance services, emergency departments and social care.

The Commissioning Standards build on the success of NHS 111 and will help to deliver the benefits for all patients set out in the Urgent and Emergency Care review led by Sir Bruce Keogh (which was announced 18.1.2013). Through this model the Integrated Urgent Care service, supported by an Integrated Clinical Advice Service (Clinical Hub) will assess the needs of people and advise on or access the most appropriate course of action.

The Commissioners' current requirements for NHS 111 Services are provided under a Step in Contract. The GP led OOH services being procured under this process are currently provided under 5 different contracts covering the 8 CCGs who are procuring OOH services as part of this process.

The purpose of this Procurement process is to:

— Secure a service provider(s) to continue the provision of the NHS 111 Service for the 16 CCGs after expiry of the existing contract and to deliver the service through a new integrated model of urgent care comprising clinical hub elements;

— Secure a service provider(s) to deliver GP led OOH Services in five Lot areas (comprising 8 CCGs in total) to deliver a functionally integrated model with 111 access;

— Ensure all Urgent Care Services are fully integrated with NHS 111 Access Services and GP led OOH Service provision and reflect the Commissioning Standards for Integrated Urgent Care, published September 2015.

Scope of Services:

The scope of the procurement has been developed by Commissioners based on the needs of the local communities.

1) NHS 111 Access Service and Clinical Hub Overview:

NHS 111 is a free-to-call 111 telephone number available 24 hours each day, 365 days a year, offering a personalised priority contact service that responds to individual healthcare needs when:

— It is not a life-threatening situation;

— The patient's registered General Practitioner is not an option;

— The caller feels they cannot wait (and may be unsure of what service they require);

— The caller requires health information or reassurance about what to do next.

The Commissioner expectations for the integrated 111 services including Clinical Hub are:

— The service must be staffed by trained advisors, supported by clinicians, using a specified clinical triage tool alongside local Directory of Services to assess caller needs and determine the most appropriate course of action, which may include dispatching an ambulance, providing clinical advice or information, providing reassurance or referring the caller to an alternative service.

— As part of the new specification for 111 services, a clinical hub will also be required to complement the core 111 service, with the aim of delivering enhanced clinical input from pharmacy, mental health and dental specialist input and to act as an Integrated Clinical Advice Service. Primary Care cover at peak times (at the level specified in the NHS 111 Service Specification) will be required from Out of Hours GPs. In addition, 1 CCG, namely, NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG, is commissioning its requirements for GP Led Out of Hours telephone advice via the Clinical Hub in Lot 1 (and not via the contract it is procuring under Lot 4 of this Procurement for GP Led Out of Hours services). Bidders should refer to the Service Specifications for full details.

— NHS Dudley CCG has included a local schedule appended to the Service Specification for NHS 111 Access including the Clinical Hub, which details additional requirements for the Service Provider relating specifically to the development of a local Single Patient Portal for Dudley.

— NHS Herefordshire CCG, NHS Solihull CCG, and NHS Shropshire CCG with NHS Telford and Wrekin CCG have also appended local schedules to this Service Specification in order to set out their local specific additional requirements.

2) GP led OOH Services Overview:

GP led Out of Hours Services are used by patients outside of normal surgery hours to receive GP led appointments and for the purposes of this Procurement, these services comprise:

— Telephone consultation for patients who have been referred via the 111 access service (for Lots 2, 3, 5 and 6 but not included in Lot 4 — GP led Out of Hours Services for NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG);

— GP led primary care appointments at the provider's base location; and

— GP led primary care visits to a patient's home.

Under this procurement process, 8 of the 16 CCGs comprising the Commissioners are seeking to procure GP led OOH services. The other 8 CCGs are retaining their existing OOH provision and will be seeking to agree variations to existing contracts to enable full integration of all urgent care services across the region. All current and future providers of integrated urgent care services in the region will be required to be party to the Alliance Agreement included in the ITT documents.

The Service Provider(s) for all Lots in this Procurement must fulfil the following consistent requirements for the delivery of all Integrated Urgent Care Services in the West Midlands:

— The Service Provider(s) will need to evidence that all staff are capable of carrying out their duties competently and to a standard that meets the requirements of the Service Specifications;

— The Service Provider(s) must deliver the Services in accordance with the provisions of the NHS Standard Contract;

— The Commissioners welcome proposals from alliances of providers and require all providers to demonstrate a commitment to partnership and delivery of joint objectives. All providers successful in this Procurement, including existing providers of GP led Out of Hours Services and other Urgent Care Services in the region must work collaboratively to deliver a quality service to patients. The collaborative element of the service delivery will entail shared objectives, metrics, data and learning across organisations. This will be recognised under a binding Alliance Agreement, which all providers of integrated urgent care in the region will be required to enter into with Commissioners.

— The Commissioners are looking to appoint an innovative Service Provider(s) who will work with them to develop and enhance the NHS 111 service and GP led OOH service over the course of the lifetime of the contract(s). The Commissioners will require the Service Provider(s) to embrace technological advancements in the delivery of NHS 111 services and GP led OOH services. Further details are set out in the Service Specifications issued alongside this Contract Notice.

— The Commissioners are proposing to structure the contract(s) so as to provide for the opportunity (at the Commissioners' discretion) to increase the scope of the services beyond the core NHS 111 and GP led OOH service requirements, set out in the Service Specifications, where the Commissioners consider that the Service Provider(s) can provide additional / complementary services to further enhance the services. The scope and nature of these services will be set out in the contractual documentation, together with review clauses which set out how they may be implemented. These service areas may include: further primary care integration; direct booking to multiple services; online access to NHS 111 triage; OOH clinicians and bookings of appointments; text message appointment consultations; digital applications; video consultation; live web chats and instant messaging; biometric information and patient recognition. Bidders should note, however, that the Commissioners reserve the right: not to initiate any additional / complementary services; to compete such possible future requirements; or to commission them from a separate provider (at their discretion). Further details of this are included within the Service Specifications issued alongside this Contract Notice.

— The Commissioners require the call centres(s) for NHS 111 access services to be located within the geographical footprint of Lot 1. This is because the integrated NHS 111 Services form a critical part of the local urgent and emergency care system within the West Midlands region and integration with the existing local urgent and emergency care system will be an important part of the evaluation. Furthermore, from a clinical perspective, collaboration, cooperation, transparency and consistent focus on performance improvement are required between the Commissioners and service providers for all local healthcare services in the communities of the West Midlands.

— The form of contract for all lots will be the prevailing NHS Standard Contract as at the date of contract award and incorporating the Contract Particulars.

Lot strategy:

This procurement is structured into 6 lots:

— Lot 1: Provision of NHS 111 Access Services and Clinical Hub to the 16 CCGs of the West Midlands (as identified below);

— NHS Birmingham CrossCity Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Birmingham South Central Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Coventry and Rugby Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Dudley Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Redditch and Bromsgrove Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS South Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS South Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Walsall Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Warwickshire North Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group;

— NHS Wyre Forest Clinical Commissioning Group.

— Lot 2: Provision of GP led Out of Hours Services to NHS Birmingham South Central CCG;

— Lot 3: Provision of GP led Out of Hours Services to NHS Redditch and Bromsgrove CCG, NHS South Worcestershire CCG and NHS Wyre Forest CCG;

— Lot 4: Provision of GP led Out of Hours Services to NHS Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG;

— Lot 5: Provision of GP led Out of Hours Services to NHS Herefordshire CCG;

— Lot 6: Provision of GP led Out of Hours Services to NHS South Warwickshire CCG and NHS Warwickshire North CCG.

Bidders may bid for 1 or more Lots in this Procurement; however, if bidding for Lot 1 (Provision of NHS 111 Access Services and Clinical Hub to the 16 CCGs of the West Midlands). Bidders must also bid for Lot 3 (Provision of GP Out of Hours Services to NHS Redditch and Bromsgrove CCG, NHS South Worcestershire CCG and NHS Wyre Forest CCG) and similarly, if bidding for Lot 3, Bidders must also bid for Lot 1. Each Lot (including Lot 1 and Lot 3) will be evaluated separately.

The Commissioners have produced a Memorandum of Information (MOI) in addition to the Service Specifications for this procurement, which together set out in further detail their ambition and the requirements sought from their service provider(s). These documents, published alongside this Contract Notice and available from the e-tendering portal specified in Section I.1) should be read by all Bidders.

The Commissioners are proposing to let a 4 year contract(s) with an option (at the discretion of the Commissioners) to extend for a further 2 years. Due to the nature of the proposed contract(s) and the possibility of increased scope of services, the Commissioners have provided a range for the anticipated contract value of between 86 441 000 GBP-172 155 000 million. For clarity, the lower range of 86 441 000 GBP million is based upon the core contract term of 4 years only being exercised, with no additional activity above the volumes forecast in the ITT documents published alongside this Contract Notice and with no innovation requirements exercised. The upper range of 172 155 000 GBP million million is based upon the maximum potential contract term of 6 years with increase in activity volumes for all services above those forecast and with allowance for innovation requirements which may be exercised under this contract(s).

Bidders should note that an affordability limit applies to each Lot in this Procurement and this is separate from the potential indicative range of contract values indicated in this Contract Notice. The affordability limit is an absolute limit above which any Bid(s) received will be automatically rejected. Bids below this limit will be assessed according to the criteria specified in Section IV.2) below, according to the relative levels of quality and value for money in price that they offer.

The purpose of the affordability limit is to ensure that the contract prices submitted by Bidders are priced at a reasonable and affordable level.

If the Commissioners consider that a bid is abnormally low in relation to the services, they may require a Bidder to explain the price or costs. Following such explanation (or failure to explain within a required time limit) the Commissioners may, in their absolute discretion, reject that Bid by reason of its being abnormally low. The Commissioners have set out a pricing ‘floor’ to give Bidders a clear indication of the price below which Bidders will be required to explain their price or costs.

The Commissioners reserve the right in their absolute discretion not to select a Preferred Bidder for each Lot(s), or where a Preferred Bidder for any Lot(s) has/have been selected, not to award a Contract(s). In exercising such right, the Commissioners may take into account such factors as they consider relevant at the time. These may include whether Bidders have failed to provide technically acceptable solutions with a clear articulated price on agreed Contractual terms that offer value for money and are affordable.

Bidders should note that TUPE is expected to apply to the staff of the current services and further details of this are included in the ITT documents published alongside this Contract Notice.