North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is managing this procurement process for and on behalf of NHS England (North) Yorkshire & the Humber the (Contracting Authority).
The Contracting Authority proposes to commission Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Services in the South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw area and is inviting expressions of interest in this tender opportunity.
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 The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended). Regulation 120 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 provides for a temporary exemption and saving for certain NHS procurements. Regulation 120 provides that nothing in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 affects any contract award procedure that relates to the procurement of health care services for the purposes of the NHS within the meaning and scope of the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No. 2) Regulations 2013(b), that is commenced before 18th April 2016 and any subsequent contract awarded as a result of such a procedure. The current Part B regime of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended) and NHS (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No. 2) Regulations 2013(b) will continue to apply to the commissioning of these services until 18th April 2016.
The aim of AAA is to:
Reduce deaths from AAA through early detection, monitoring, and treatment to all men aged 65 registered with a GP or resident in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw (SY&B).
The service will also work with people who are housebound, people in minority groups, people with protected characteristics (in accordance with the Equality Act 2010) and people in places of detention to provide them opportunity to take up the service within the defined catchment area.
The National AAA Screening Programme aims to reduce AAA related deaths by providing a systematic population based screening programme for the male population during their 65th year, and on request for men over the age of 65 years, ensuring early detection, appropriate monitoring, and timely intervention/treatment. Research has demonstrated that offering men ultrasound screening in their 65th year should reduce the rate of premature death from ruptured AAA by up to 50 per cent.
The target population to be screened is all men eligible for NHS care registered with a general practitioner or resident within SY&B.
Selection will be based on year of birth.
Men should be offered screening during the year — 1st April to 31st March — in which they turn 65 years.
Men over the age of 65 can self-refer to the screening programme and have their information added manually to the screening management system.
The population will be identified through the National Screening Management System and must include:
Subjects who are housebound
Subjects in minority groups
Subjects with protected characteristics (in accordance with the Equality Act 2010)
People in places of detention
It is anticipated that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 as amended by the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 (TUPE) may apply for this contract.
Tenderers are advised to form their own view on whether TUPE applies, obtaining their own legal advice and carrying out due diligence, it is the Tenderers responsibility to verify TUPE information with the incumbent service provider.
The service is to commence on 1.4.2016 for a period of 3 years with the option to extend the contract by a further 1 x 24 month period at the discretion of the Contracting Authority and subject to satisfactory contractual and financial performance.
‘Under the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 the Contracting Authority must consider:
(a) how what is proposed to be procured might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area where it exercises its functions, and
(b) how, in conducting the process of procurement, it might act with a view to securing that improvement
Accordingly, the subject matter of the contract has been scoped to take into account the priorities of the Contracting Authority relating to economic, social, and environmental well-being. These priorities are described in the Invitation to Tender and are reflected in environmental and social characteristics in the evaluation criteria for the award of the contract’
NECS is utilising an electronic tendering system to manage this procurement and communicate with tenderers. Accordingly, there will be no hard copy documents issued to tenderers and all communications with NECS, including your tender submission, will be conducted via the portal hosted by (In-Tend), the managed service provider for the NECS electronic tendering system.
As stated in the Prior Information Notice (PIN: Notice Number in OJ 2015/S 119-217694 of 19-06-2015) potential tenders who have expressed an interest in the PIN will not need to express their interest again in this Contract Notice.
To Express Interest via this Contract Notice:
To express an interest in tendering for this service, and (if you have not already done so) 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 Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) Screening Services.
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 tenderers have any queries) a dedicated helpdesk is available and can be contacted on +44 8442728810 Monday to Friday 8:30 to 17:00 or email: support@in-tend.co.uk
Please note the deadline for submission of all tender returns is 12 Noon on 1.9.2015.