Upper Thames Medical Group APMS Contract

Concepts

• health services
• gloucester
• upper thames medical group apms contract
• lechdale medical centre
• general medical services
• alternative provider medical services
• the upper thames medical group practice
• the upper thames medical group
• apms
• a new alternative provider medical services

Location

Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Description

This notice relates to the award of a public contract for GP primary care services under the negotiated procedure without prior publication. The contract is subject to the provisions of Part 2, Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the PCR") (the Light Regime). NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board ("the ICB") has an existing General Medical Services (GMS) contract in place for delivery of GP services at what is known as the Upper Thames Medical Group practice (covering two GP surgeries, one in Cirencester and one in Lechlade). The current partners of the provider of the GMS contract, Inspire Healthcare Partnership ("Inspire"), identified inherent financial challenges and inefficiencies of running two surgeries across two sites. The provider is in financial difficulty and ICB investment in improvement and transformation is required in order for the practice to remain viable. That investment cannot be provided via the existing GMS contract. Due to exceptional circumstances in relation to this contract, the ICB has taken the decision to end the existing GMS contract and award Inspire a new Alternative Provider Medical Services ("APMS") contract which provides for a financial premium, linked to KPIs to enable transformation, to Inspire for delivery of the GP services at the Upper Thames Medical Group practice. This will ensure that service continuity is maintained for patients. Competition is absent because the services for patients to be provided by Inspire under the APMS contract are the same as those they provided under the GMS contract and only Inspire is in a position to continue delivery of those services without disruption. The ICB is accordingly awarding the contract by negotiated procedure without prior publication, under regulation 32(2)(b) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015.

Total Quantity or Scope

The Contract covers the provision of GP primary care services to the patients registered with the Upper Thames Medical Group which has a patient list of 11,802 patients across Park Surgery in Cirencester and Lechdale Medical Centre. It is an Alternative Provider Medical Services ("APMS") Contract with an initial term of five years with the option to extend subject to satisfactory contractual performance for a further five years.

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85100000 - Health services

Indicators

• Award on basis of price.

Legal Justification

The Authority (the ICB) considers that Inspire is the only supplier able to supply the primary care services at the Upper Thames Medical Group practice because competition is absent for technical reasons. Inspire have been delivering the primary care services to patients at the practice under the GMS contract (which is an arrangement which continues indefinitely). Inspire is satisfying its existing contract in terms of patient services and the ICB considers it is in the best interests of patients to ensure continuity of those services. Due to historic financial losses and the wider financial climate, the practice is in financial difficulty and is at risk of failing entirely without financial intervention from the ICB. The previous contract form (GMS) did not provide a mechanism for the additional financing needed and therefore the ICB has awarded an APMS form of contract to Inspire to facilitate the financial premium required. However, the GP primary care services to be provided under the APMS contract are the same as those provided under the previous GMS contract. In light of this, and given the importance of continuity of primary care services, the ICB considers that Inspire is the only supplier which can provide the contracted service to patients at this time. It does not consider there to be a reasonable alternative to Inspire being awarded the APMS contract which would not result in significant disruption to patient services. Accordingly, and in the best interests of its patients, the ICB is able pursuant to Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 to negotiate an APMS contract directly with Inspire without needing to advertise the opportunity and has done so.