Public procurement notice: Additional Information
Published: 2016-06-11
Buyer: The Department of Health c/o Ambulance Radio Programme
Country: UK
Region: LONDON
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Competitive dialogue
CPV classification: 32000000 | 44316400 | 48000000 | 50312610 | 51611100
Submission deadline: 2016-06-29
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: The Department of Health is the contracting authority for this procurement (the ‘Authority’). The contract that will support this procurement will be signed by the Secretary of State for Health.
Although the Authority is the contracting authority, it is acting on behalf of the Department of Health, 12 NHS Trusts/ Foundation Trusts/ Ambulance Trusts (the ‘Trusts’). The Trusts will be the service recipients for the purposes of the contract procured.
The Authority is seeking in this procurement to procure an Ambulance Control Room Software Solution and Associated Services (‘CRSS’) to the Trusts. CRSS is part of the Authority's Control Room Solution Programme (‘CRSP’) and the wider Ambulance Radio Programme (‘ARP’).
The Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust (the ‘Welsh Trust’) may decide not to adopt CRSS, so bidders should note that the Welsh Trust is an optional Trust.
The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.
Implementation of the CRSS will be phased across each Trust and roll-out must be completed by the expiry of the Authority's current ARP contracts. The CRSS must be capable of maintaining operational interoperability between the current and new solution.
The Authority will enter into a single contract with the supplier which will cover service provision to all Trusts. The current ARP contracts will expire on different dates for each Trust between 2017 and 2020 and a period of parallel running of the current and new solutions will be required in respect of each Trust before its current contract expires. Roll-out for each Trust must be completed by the expiry end dates of the current contracts. The Software Solution must be capable of maintaining operational interoperability between the current and new solution. There will be an implementation phase which will include development of the new solution, testing, and setting up of the national integration in preparation for rolling out the new service on a phased Trust by Trust basis (the ‘Implementation Phase’). There will then be an operational service phase in respect of each Trust (the ‘Operational Phase’), the term of which will be 4.5 years from go-live of the solution in that Trust (these 4.5 year periods will therefore run from different dates and not be co-terminus). There will be an option to extend the services received by each Trust on a Trust by Trust basis for a period of up to 3 years in total. The total term of the contract (including both the Implementation Phase and the Operational Phase) will therefore be c.6 years, and where this has been extended by a maximum of 3 years, this would represent a total of c.9 years. Further details regarding the Implementation Phase can be found within the Trust Rollout Plan as provided within Appendix 14 and further detailed in Schedule 6.1 of this Invitation to Participate in Dialogue and in the draft contract (Part C of this ITPD).
The Authority only intends to purchase hardware from the supplier which is bespoke to the software which it is offering to provide. For the avoidance of doubt, the Authority does not intend to purchase COTS hardware or any other hardware in this procurement (which is not bespoke).