Public procurement notice: Contract Award Notice
Published: 2021-02-19
Buyer: NHS England and NHS Improvement South (South West)
Country: UK
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Open procedure
CPV classification: 85100000: Health services
Estimated value: 3721000 GBP

Technical requirements: NHS England and NHS Improvement South (South West) (NHSE/I), as lead commissioner and the Dorset Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner as co-commissioner, recommissioned Dorset Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) services.
The commissioning exercise aimed to increase equity of access and ensure a consistent and high standard of quality care to victims of sexual assault in line with the Strategic Direction for Sexual Assault and Abuse Services (2018).
The Commissioner contracted the services using the National NHS Standard Contract. The contract will be for a term of 7 years and will commence from 1 April 2021. The total contract value of the service will be GBP 3 720 206 over the 7 years.
NHS England and NHS Improvement South (South West) (NHSE/I), as lead commissioner and the Dorset Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner as co-commissioner, recommissioned Dorset Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) services.
Dorset SARC services aim to increase equity of access and ensure a consistent and high standard of quality care to victims of sexual assault in line with the Strategic Direction for Sexual Assault and Abuse Services (2018). The following outcomes are anticipated during the life of the contract:
• provide consistency of available services offered to different age groups, i.e. adults and paediatrics, and equal access to services;
Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) services and therapeutic provision fall outside of the scope of this contract.
The Dorset SARC provider will be required to work closely with the paediatric department from PHFT, who are commissioned separately by NHSE/I to provide the paediatric workforce for assessment and examinations of children and young people. PHFT also deliver provision of non-recent/historic child sexual abuse services.
Services will be delivered under the national service specification (Spec 30), coupled with the Dorset (local) specification, that are aligned with best practice, current Faculty for Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM) guidelines and current Royal Colleges’ guidance. Where standards and guidance are reviewed and updated during the life of the contract, SARC services must maintain compliance with any changes and as such the contract may be varied accordingly.
The Commissioner contracted the Services using the National NHS Standard Contract. The contract will be for a term of 7 years and will commence from 1 April 2021. The total contract value is GBP 3 720 206 over the 7 years.
This procurement was carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.
These services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (‘the Regulations’) which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but is instead governed by the ‘Light Touch Regime’ contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77).
Questions were split into sections with specified weightings with an overall weighting of 90 % for quality and 10 % for finance. All scored questions were evaluated using a 0-4 scale as published within the ITT documentation, firstly by individual evaluators and then a consensus score reached for each question via moderation meetings. Associated weightings were applied and summed to reach an overall total score.
The services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (‘the Regulations’) which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but is instead governed by the ‘Light Touch Regime’ contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77).
The tendering process has been conducted in accordance with the requirements and flexibilities provided by Articles 74 to 76 of the Directive, and Regulations 74 to 76 of the Regulations. The authority ran a transparent tender process, treating all bidders equally. For the avoidance of doubt, the authority will not be bound by the Regulations or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or any other regulations or legislation except for the specific parts or circumstances that apply to the procurement of these services.


Winner: G4S Health Services (UK) Ltd
Award value: 3721000
Number of bids: 3