NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire ICB Assisted Conception Services

Concepts

• health services
• worcester
• hospital services
• worcestershire icb assisted conception services
• assisted conception services
• assisted conception
• nhs herefordshire & worcestershire icb assisted conception services
• the crown commercial service standard selection questionnaire
• nhs herefordshire
• nhs midlands

Location

The Counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire

Description

NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Procurement Unit is issuing this Notice (Intention to Award) on behalf of NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB for Assisted Conception Services in this area. The ICB has undertaken a Most Suitable Provider assessment process pursuant to Regulation 10 of The Heath Care Service (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 further to the publication of a Prior Information Notice on 14th February 2024.

Total Quantity or Scope

The ICB has undertaken a Most Suitable Provider assessment process pursuant to Regulation 10 of The Heath Care Service (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 further to the publication of a Market Engagement Notice on 14th February 2024. Interested providers were able to express an interest via the NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit Atamis e-Tendering portal (https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome) between 13th February 2024 and 8th March 2024. The Find a Tender Service reference was 2024/S 000-004924. This exercise enabled the ICB to consider all providers they thought would be able to deliver the service to the relevant population, and then to proceed to identify and select the most suitable providers from this group. The ICB conducted a Pass/Fail assessment process against basic selection criteria and key criteria of any providers who expressed their interest. All basic selection criteria in the MSP assessment were fully based on the Crown Commercial Service Standard Selection Questionnaire. All other questions in the MSP assessment covered the five key criteria pursuant to Regulation 5 of the Provider Selection Regime Regulations. This Regulation states that five key criteria must be considered by the commissioning organisation in a fair way across providers when applying an MSP assessment. These criteria are: • Quality and Innovation • Value • Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability • Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice • Social Value This Notice is an intention to award four contracts to four provider organisations of Assisted Conception Services, who each met all the criteria under the Most Suitable Provider assessment. Each contract period is for 4 years, with the option to extend for a further 2 years, subject to mutual agreement. The total value is approximately £2,298,414.00 for the lifetime of the proposed contracts including the optional extension periods. The indicative value per financial year for the lifetime of the contract including the optional extension periods is £383,069. Please note that the value shown, for each provider, at Section V Paragraph 2.4 below is an indicative value only, i.e., for the purposes of completing this Notice. Patients have the option to select their choice of provider for the Assisted Conception Services in scope, therefore, it is not possible to state in this Notice the exact proposed total value of each contract for each of the four Most Suitable Providers. The figure shown, for each provider, at Section V Paragraph 2.4 is indicative only. Assisted Conception is when a person or couple get pregnant (conceive) with the assistance of medical intervention (treatment). The Assisted Conception services include: • In vitro fertilisation (IVF) • IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) • Intrauterine insemination (IUI) The different treatments available can involve the use of donated eggs and sperm.

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85100000 - Health services
• 85111000 - Hospital services

Indicators

• Award on basis of price and quality.

Legal Justification

The ICB has adopted The Most Suitable Provider Process (MSP) pursuant to Regulation 10 of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Act 2023. The Assisted Conception services are classed as healthcare services under the Regulations. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this notice.

Other Information

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition.