Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2019-10-31
Buyer: NHS Thurrock Clinical Commissioning Group
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 85100000: Health services
Estimated value: 5700000 GBP
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: This is an ex ante transparency notice and is intended to provide notice of Thurrock CCG's intention to award a 2 year contract, with the potential to extend for a further 12 months to Neera Medical Centre for Primary care Extended access service with further expansion of the MSK physio service.
Neera Medical Centre has been providing the Primary care extended access (PCEA)service since 2018 and the extended weekend primary care services under the primary care transformation 7 year contract awarded by NHS England since 2015. The provider has been providing this service under the name of Thurrock Health hubs and as part of its PCEA contract has been providing MSK and physio service. Contract for the provision of the PCEA was limited to 2 years as the national allocation to the CCG was for 2 years. CCGs have been informed that this is a recurrent funding as part of the ‘General practice 5 Year Contract Reform’.
Thurrock Health hubs have been well established in Thurrock since 2015 and integrates well with the CCG’s member practices. As provision of primary care extended access service is a national initiative, the service is being awarded to the existing provider of this service with further expansion of the MSK physio service.
Minimum service requirements extended access timing of appointments: commission weekday provision of access to pre-bookable and same day appointments to general practice services in evenings (after 6.30 p.m.) for extended access appointments — to provide an additional 2 hours a day.
Commission weekend provision of access to pre-bookable and same day appointments on both Saturdays and Sundays to meet local population needs.
Provide robust evidence, based on utilisation rates, for the proposed disposition of services throughout the week.
Measurement: ensure usage of a nationally commissioned new tool to automatically measure appointment activity by all participating practices, both in-hours and in extended hours.
Advertising and ease of access: ensure services are advertised to patients, including notification on practice websites, notices in local urgent care services and publicity that into the community, so that it is clear to patients how they can access these appointments and associated service.
All practice receptionists able to direct patients to the service and offer appointments to extended access service on the same basis as appointments to non-extended access services patients should be offered a choice of evening or weekend appointments on an equal footing to core hours appointments.
Inequalities: issues of inequalities in patients' experience of accessing general practice identified by local evidence and actions to resolve in place.
The CCG has carried out a due diligence process on Neera Medical Centre and believes that they are best placed to provide these services as they already hold a seven year contract with NHS England to deliver these services. They have also invested in capital and workforce that would enable them to expand their existing services.
1) Signed up memorandum of understanding from each practice to access their registered list of patients;
3) The funding is for 2 years, with the possibility of 12 month extension. Funds have been announced the actual amount of money may be reduced.
4) The extended access service must be based on the primary care network model of care and including staff such as GPs, advance nurse specialists, clinical pharmacist, physiotherapists, dietician, specialised asthma clinics and other long term conditions clinics. Requirements for the provision of MSK physio service is available on request;
6) Promote actively advertising the services to stakeholders, community and secondary care environments. 7-12 items available on request.


Winner: Neera Medical Centre
Award value: 5700000