Mid and south Essex Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS)

Concepts

• health services
• emergency patient transport services
• chelmsford
• basildon
• southend on sea
• epping
• grays
• rayleigh
• non-emergency patient transport services
• nepts

Location

The Service will primarily be delivered within Essex and surrounding areas and for patients registered with NHS West Essex CCG in relation to journeys to/from the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre

Description

The Contracting Authorities (hereinafter referred to as "the Authority") for this procurement were: NHS Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group (as Coordinating Commissioner), NHS Basildon & Brentwood Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Castle Point and Rochford Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Southend Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS Thurrock Clinical Commissioning Group and NHS West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group. The Authority has awarded a contract to deliver Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) for the population of mid and south Essex (MSE), to the most economically advantageous tenderer (Thames Ambulance Service Limited) as a result of an 'Open' (above light-touch threshold) procurement procedure. The Service covers all land-based provision (across all ages) with the exception of secure mental health transport. Additionally, the service will be provided to patients registered with NHS West Essex CCG in relation to journeys to/from the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre.

Total Quantity or Scope

The Service was not lotted as it was deemed that would result in unnecessary fragmentation and complexities. The NEPTS encompasses: • Booking & Eligibility Assessment; • Transportation of patients; and • On Site support at local NHS Acute Trust sites. NEPTS are a key enabler underpinning access to elective care and supporting timely and efficient discharge processes for acute and community providers. As a partner within the system, the successful provider will support improvements in the latter stages of urgent and emergency care pathways, enabling patient choice and equitable access for elective care. The Contract has been awarded for a term of 60 months (five years), with the possibility of extending the term for a period of 24 additional months (two years) beyond the initial contracted duration by agreement between the Authority and the Bidder. The anticipated aggregate contract value including extensions, variations, growth and inflation advertised in the Find a Tender Service Contract Notice was £73,150,000 and the contract was awarded within the pre-published affordability envelope of £40,800,000 over the full 5 years contract term. The contract model for the NEPTS is a block, with tolerance levels of 5% to be applied to the contract, which will be monitored on a mobility level, with adjustment to the block being considered if activity goes above tolerance levels.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

Option to extend for up to an additional two years after the initial 5 year term.

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85100000 - Health services

Indicators

• Options are available.

Other Information

** PREVIEW NOTICE, please check Find a Tender for full details. ** The Services to which this Procurement related fall within Schedule 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020). As such, the procurement of the Services was conducted as a bespoke, single stage application process akin to the Open procedure, involving a number of stages which are outlined within the suite of procurement documents. The Authority does not intend to hold itself bound by any of the Regulations, save those applicable to Schedule 3 Services. As published in the FTS Contract Notice, he Authority may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included in the Specification, at any given time. The aggregate contract value (£73,150,000.00) published in the FTS Contract Notice was inclusive of all options to extend and any such potential modifications over the term of the contract. Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in the Contract Notice. To this end, the Bidder should be aware that after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the successful Bidder may be offered a variation to the contract to include (but not be limited to) reduction of activity and removal of funding for Personal Health Budgets and/or an increase in additional low level/low risk journeys where activity may be transferred from the 999 contract to the patient transport service (for example 'GP Urgents' services) in accordance with Regulation 72 (1) (a) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (as amended The Public Procurement (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020).