Enhanced Community Pharmacy Service for the Supply of on Demand Palliative Care and Other Specialist Medication

Concepts

• leicester
• pharmacy services
• community palliative care services
• palliative care drugs
• secondary care providers
• palliative care
• primary care
• other specialist medication
• care
• rutland integrated care board

Location

Leicester

Description

NHS Midlands & Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (ML CSU) on behalf of the Commissioner, NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) is seeking to commission a provider to deliver end-of-life medicines and urgent community treatment (palliative care drugs) in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Total Quantity or Scope

NHS Midlands & Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (ML CSU) on behalf of the Commissioner, NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) is seeking to commission a provider or providers to deliver end-of-life medicines and urgent community treatment (palliative care drugs) in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The service is being commissioned via a Competitive Process conducted in line with the Provider Selection Regime for Healthcare Services 2023 which is proportionate to the value and complexity of the service and contract. The Provider Selection Regime applies under common procurement vocabulary (CPV) 85149000-5, as this service is not covered under the community pharmacy services that are arranged under the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/349/contents) The ICB wishes to receive responses to the Invitation to Tenders (ITTs) from suitably qualified and experienced Providers with the necessary skill and experience (or a demonstrable ability to provide the skill and experience) to provide the range of services required. Aims and objectives of the service: • The aim of this enhanced service is to provide service users and clinicians with prompt access to a range of palliative care and specialist medications on an urgent basis. • Improving access to End of Life (EoL) medication is also expected to reduce pressure on secondary care providers and facilitate admission avoidance. If medication needs can be met in a timely manner, more patients will be able to stay at home. • As a further system and workforce benefit, improving the processes for supply and delivery of anticipatory medications will improve productivity and morale in community nursing, community palliative care services and primary care by providing a clear and standardised pathway to obtaining these medications. • The provider must stock a range of palliative care and other specialist medication on an urgent basis. • Upon receipt of an electronic (EPS) prescription marked (in EPS script notes) for "urgent delivery", to facilitate delivery of these items to a home or care home address within LLR so that it arrives within 3 hours of receiving the EPS prescription. The ICB is seeking to award one contract for these services. The contract is anticipated to start on the 1st of October 2024 for 18 months with a contract value of £150,000 for the lifecycle of the contract. The contractual payment terms will be based on a mixed payments contract, a mix of block and cost and volume. There will be a retainer fee and activity-based payments linked to deliveries. It is expected that the bidder works within the total financial envelope of £150,000 (this is inclusive of VAT where applicable), failure to do so will result in a non-compliant bid and automatic elimination as a potential bidder. The invitation to tender (ITT) will be available from 20th of June 2024 on the ML CSU Atamis portal (see below) and it will have a deadline for submissions of 12:00 noon on 15th of July 2024. Bidder clarification questions may be submitted to the Commissioner (via the ML CSU Atamis portal only) during the procurement process between 20th of June 2024 and up to 17:00 hours on the 09th of July 2024. We recommend current providers of similar services, providers who may be interested in providing this service, or other stakeholders who may have an interest in providing this to register on the MLCSU Atamis portal to register their interest and get access to the ITT and all the related procurement documentation.

CPV Codes

• 85149000 - Pharmacy services

Indicators

• Bids should cover the whole contract.
• Renewals are not available.
• Professional qualifications are sought.
• Award on basis of price and quality.

Other Information

To register on Atamis If you have not accessed the portal before you will need to click Register from the landing page and complete the required form. 1) Register on the portal webpage https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome (registration and use of the website is free of charge). 2) Once registered, to search for tendering opportunities that have been published by the buying organisation, click Find Opportunities. 3) From the Find Opportunities page, click on the title of an opportunity. If the tendering project is at the stage where it is open for suppliers to express interest, you will be able to click Register Interest. For this project the contract reference on Atamis is C261478. For technical support in submitting your Expression of Interest or registering on the 'Atamis Electronic Sourcing system please contact the Atamis helpdesk via email: support@atamis.co.uk. All communications from providers should come through the Atamis portal. Strictly no other forms of communication to MLCSU or the Commissioner will be accepted (including telephone calls, postal queries/submissions, faxes or email communications) during this period. Provider Selection Regime The ICB are aware of their transparency obligations under The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. This notice is issued subject to Provider Selection Regime regulations. Please note that any subsequent contract emanating from this notice will be subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 will not apply to any future award. Right to Cancel The contracting authority reserves the right to discontinue the procurement process at any time, which shall include the right not to award a contract or contracts and does not bind itself to accept the lowest tender, or any tender received, and reserves the right to award a contract in part, or to call for new tenders should it consider this necessary. The contracting authority shall not be liable for any costs or expenses incurred by any candidate or tenderer in connection with the completion and return of the information requested in this Contract Notice, or in the completion or submission of any tender, irrespective of the outcome of the competition or if the competition is cancelled or postponed. All dates, time periods and values specified in this notice are provisional and the contracting authority reserves the right to change these. Transparency The contracting authority is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 (EIR) and may be required to disclose information received in the course of this procurement under FOIA or the EIR. In addition, and in accordance with the UK Government's policies on transparency, the contracting authority intends to publish procurement documentation and the text of any resulting contractual arrangements, subject to possible redactions at the discretion of the contracting authority. Any redactions, whether in relation to information requests under FOIA, the EIR or policies on transparency will be in accordance with those grounds prescribed under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004. Further information on transparency can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement- and-contracting-transparency-requirements-guidance