Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
Yorkshire Ambulance Authority NHS Trust
Units 2 and 3, Trinity Business Park, Turner Way
Wakefield
WF2 8EE
Contact
Procurement
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKE45 - Wakefield
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Other type
Health
one.5) Main activity
Health
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
YAS 277 2023_24 999 & NHS111 Remote Clinical Support
Reference number
YAS 277 2023_24
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 85100000 - Health services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) is seeking to engage with potential providers to develop our future approach to sub-contracting additional clinical assessment support for the 999 and NHS111 services in Yorkshire & Humber. YAS intends to procure a sub contracted service to provide telephone clinical assessment and onward navigation for a proportion of lower acuity 999 & 111 calls, aiming to ensure patients get the most appropriate care at the earliest opportunity. The sub-contracted service would be a long-term strategic collaboration with YAS, providing responsive high quality clinical assessment resource and tactical resilience to the 999 and NHS111 services. The proposed service would commence on 1st April 2025, with an initial contract length of two years (24 months) and an optional extension of one year (12 months).
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £4,500,000
two.2) Description
two.2.2) Additional CPV code(s)
- 85100000 - Health services
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKE45 - Wakefield
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) provide the Urgent & Emergency Ambulance Service (999) and the NHS111 service for the Yorkshire & Humber Region. Rising demand, increasing acuity, and the expansion of community urgent pathways and ED alternatives has placed an even greater emphasis on the role of 999 and NHS111 to provide robust remote clinical assessment and navigation at scale. YAS 999 and NHS111 services have historically been distinct, maintaining separate clinical hubs, separate systems and separate resilience arrangements. Both services offer remote triage, clinical assessment and onward navigation for patients with urgent and emergency care needs; aiming to ensure patients get the most appropriate care at the earliest opportunity. During 2024/25 and 2025/26 YAS is undertaking a transformation programme to develop an Integrated Clinical Assessment Service (CAS) across 999 and NHS111. This aims to streamline triage and care navigation processes, provide a more consistent response to patients and make the best use of our clinical resource. Over recent years, YAS services have regularly collaborated with system partners for external support to bolster our ability to offer prompt clinical assessment – including sub contracts, partnership arrangements and service pilots. As the Trust progresses with the development of its Integrated CAS we are seeking to sub-contract an external clinical service partner to provide remote clinical assessment for a proportion of NHS111 callers and low acuity 999 calls (cat 3-5). The scope and focus of the sub-contracted service will change over time, requiring collaboration and flexibility to support the current needs of both services and continue to evolve over time to support the single Integrated CAS. Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust (YAS) is seeking to engage with potential providers to develop our future approach to sub-contracting additional clinical assessment support for the 999 and NHS111 services in Yorkshire & Humber. YAS intends to procure a sub contracted service to provide telephone clinical assessment and onward navigation for a proportion of lower acuity 999 & 111 calls, aiming to ensure patients get the most appropriate care at the earliest opportunity. The sub-contracted service would be a long-term strategic collaboration with YAS, providing responsive high quality clinical assessment resource and tactical resilience to the 999 and NHS111 services. All calls referred to the service will have first received a non-clinical triage using NHS Pathways or AMPDS, with 999 calls also being screened by a YAS clinical navigator, to ensure that calls are appropriate for transfer and have a high probability of being successfully resolved by a remote clinician.
• The proposed service would commence on 1st April 2025, with an initial contract length of two years (24 months) and an optional extension of one year (12 months).
• This is an intention to award a contract under the competitive process.
• YAS are seeking a single sub-contractor to operate on a Yorkshire and Humber level, managing referral volumes of ca. 70,000 calls per year (approximately 18,000 999 calls & 52,000 NHS111 calls)
• The intended case mix will span a range of lower acuity urgent calls, requiring the sub contracted service to operate a multi-disciplinary model including a combination of General Practitioner, Nursing and/or Allied Health Professional staffing.
• The service would require technical infrastructure consistent with the national Integrated Urgent Care Specification, including call recording, ITK messaging, capability to interrogate the Directory of Services and make onward referrals & direct bookings
• As a strategic collaboration the service will work flexibly with YAS services to adapt service models over time with a shared aim to use the totality of the YAS and sub-contracted resource to achieve the best possible patient outcomes.
This is an existing service and the contract award is to an existing provider. The contract award criteria are specified in the procurement documents.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: Quality and Innovation / Weighting: 33
Quality criterion - Name: Integration, collaboration and service sustainability / Weighting: 15
Quality criterion - Name: Improving Access, reducing health inequalities and facilitating choice / Weighting: 9
Quality criterion - Name: Value / Weighting: 3
Quality criterion - Name: Social Value / Weighting: 10
Price - Weighting: 30
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: No
two.2.13) Information about European Union Funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: No
two.2.14) Additional information
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Contract Notice. The awarding of this contract is
subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the
avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to
this award.
Bid documents will be shared on the Atamis procurement portal. If not already registered,
please register on Atamis as a supplier here:
https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome
If needed, please access Supplier user guide here:
https://services.atamis.co.uk/docs/Supplier_User_Guide.pdf
Link to Atamis support is:
support-health@atamis.co.uk (Phone 029 2279 0052)
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Open procedure
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No
four.2) Administrative information
four.2.1) Previous publication concerning this procedure
Notice number: 2024/S 000-029551
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
2 December 2024
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 4
Number of tenders received from SMEs: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Vocare Limited
Cardinal Square, First Floor-West, 10 Nottingham Road
Derby
DE1 3QT
Telephone
+49 7595412230
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKF11 - Derby
National registration number
09933257
Internet address
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £3,000,000
Lowest offer: £1,349,375 / Highest offer: £1,399,959 taken into consideration
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
Awarded to Vocare Limited, Cardinal Square, First Floor – West, 10 Nottingham Road. Derby. DE1 3Q
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. The publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by [Add date]. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award a contract under the competitive process of the PSR.
Written representations to yas.procurement@nhs.net
Decision makers, Associate Director of Operations – Remote Care, Head of Service Delivery & Quality – IUC.
Head of Service Delivery & Quality – EOC, Head of Service Development – IUC, Head of Contracting, Head of Risk & Assurance, Clinical Response, Governance & Assurance Manager, Head of Diversity, Environmental & Sustainability Manager, Business Continuity Manager. This list is illustrative rather than exhaustive. No conflict of interests were declared amongst the decision makers.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
internationalrelationsjudicialoffice@judiciary.uk
Country
United Kingdom