Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2019-06-12
Buyer: West Essex Clinical Commissioning Group
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Negotiated without a prior call for competition
CPV classification: 85100000: Health services
Estimated value: 75000000 GBP
Award criteria: The most economic tender
EU fund: ESF

Technical requirements: West Essex CCG has an ambitious strategy to integrate the delivery of health and care for the population of West Essex. Our end goal is a truly integrated care organisation; the first step on this journey is to see an integrated community care model up and running as quickly as possible during 2019. The aim is to develop an integrated community care model for MSK which is focused on developing an integrated pathway wide approach and transitioning the system away from individual organisational models of delivery. Inherent within the service will be the ongoing commitment to integrate community teams, social care and the neighbourhood model so that they are tailored to the needs of local communities.
To this end, the CCG has been working in partnership with key provider stakeholders to bring the 3 pathways across Acute, Community and Primary Care together into a truly integrated model which meets that vision and improves the quality of care.
This is a Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT) and is intended to inform the market of West Essex CCGs decision to award a contract to deliver Integrated MSK Services across West Essex to Princess Alexandra Hospital who will hold subcontracting arrangements with other relevant providers as appropriate.
West Essex CCG has an ambitious strategy to integrate the delivery of health and care for the population of West Essex. Our end goal is a truly integrated care organisation; the first step on this journey is to see an integrated community care model up and running as quickly as possible during 2019. The aim is to develop an integrated community care model for MSK which is focused on developing an integrated pathway wide approach and transitioning the system away from individual organisational models of delivery. Inherent within the service will be the ongoing commitment to integrate community teams, social care and the neighbourhood model so that they are tailored to the needs of local communities.
To this end, the CCG has been working in partnership with key provider stakeholders to bring the 3 pathways across Acute, Community and Primary Care together into a truly integrated model which meets that vision and improves the quality of care.
The CCG has been working in partnership with its existing Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) to develop the model. A Prior Information Notice was published in OJEU during April 2019 (reference 2019/S 071-167886), the purpose of which was to set out the CCGs intention to work with it's Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) and to seek input from other capable and interested providers to learn from other models being undertaken around the country to inform the final commissioning arrangements for the service and subsequent procurement approach.
Through these discussions the CCG believes that it has identified the providers most capable and uniquely placed of leading and participating in delivery of the Integrated MSK Service.
Those key provider stakeholders are: Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Essex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Stellar Healthcare Ltd and Uttlesford Health Ltd. It has been determined that this arrangement, with Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Foundation Trust being the lead contract holder on behalf of the alliance partners, will achieve better patient outcomes for West Essex and will help to facilitate a more integrated, resilient healthcare system.
— a hub that is responsible for designing planned care for all MSK specialties and will be the interface between primary, community and secondary care to jointly plan MSK pathways with patients and the CCG,
— treating patients at the most appropriate location and undertake minor surgical interventions such as hand and carpal tunnel surgery (all appropriate surgical procedures will continue to be undertaken by PAH and are out of scope),
— provision of a clinically led MSK Clinical Coordination Centre to deliver improved access through a single point of referral and central booking system including triage.
The proposed contract will be for a period of 5 years with the option to extend for a further 2 years. The contract value provided in this VEAT Notice is a maximum of 75 000 000 GBP for the 7 years including the potential extension period.
Discussions with other interested providers in response to the PIN demonstrated that there was a desire to work with Princess Alexandra Hospital, and the wider Integrated Care Partnership, as opposed to competing against it. To this end the CCG are facilitating those discussions and alternative providers may become a part of the model in future.
Princess Alexandra Hospital are the lead on behalf of West Essex system to embed and develop the wider Integrated Care Partnership which has been a key priority for our system for the past 5 years. PAH is the key foundation of our integrated care partnership, and as the main elective provider are a key fixed point.
Within this one of the key delivery areas is the Integrated MSK Service for which PAH have been providing clinical leadership of the current system wide pathways and leadership of models of care as they develop. An alternative provider leading this model outside of the existing ICP is likely to destabilise the progress on system integration which as been developed across the past 5 years.


Winner: Princess Alexandra Hospital
Award value: 75000000