Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust
729 The Ridge
St Leonards on Sea
TN37 7PT
Contact
Procurement
Telephone
+44 3001514500
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKJ2 - Surrey, East and West Sussex
Internet address(es)
Main address
Buyer's address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Health
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Intermediate Care Ward GP Provision
Reference number
ES/25/1435
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 85121100 - General-practitioner services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
Onsite and offsite GP Services to support patient discharge.
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: £125,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UKJ2 - Surrey, East and West Sussex
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Onsite and offsite GP Services to support patient discharge.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Price
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
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority
Explanation:
In these circumstances, the Trust determined that proceeding via an urgent procurement route was both proportionate and necessary, as competition was impractical within the timeframe available and failure to proceed would have had a significant adverse impact on service delivery and patient care.
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
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
1 September 2025
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
HASTINGS INTEGRATED FAMILY HEALTHCARE GP FEDERATION
St Leonard’s Medical Centre, 126 Bexhill Road
St Leonard’s On Sea,
TN38 8BL
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKJ2 - Surrey, East and West Sussex
The contractor is an SME
Yes
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £125,000
Lowest offer: £125,000 / Highest offer: £125,000 taken into consideration
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
'This contract has been awarded under the urgent circumstances provision of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). This contract has been awarded under 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 reasons why regulation 14 applied.
The requirement to open an intermediate care ward at Conquest Hospital arose following the successful launch of a similar ward at Eastbourne District General Hospital (EDGH). It was initially anticipated that the contracted supplier at EDGH would expand its services to Conquest; however, unforeseen recruitment challenges made this unachievable.
To ensure continuity of patient flow and mitigate system pressures, the Trust required immediate access to additional GP services to provide onsite cover from 09:00–12:00 and on-call support from 12:00–16:00, Monday to Friday. The service was scheduled to commence on 2 September 2025, with staff already mobilised and the ward repurposed in readiness.
Any delay in implementation would have undermined mobilisation, wasted resources already committed, and directly resulted in hospital beds being occupied by patients no longer requiring acute care. This would have exacerbated bed occupancy pressures, delayed discharges, and increased risk to patient flow across the Trust.
In these circumstances, the Trust determined that proceeding via an urgent procurement route was both proportionate and necessary, as competition was impractical within the timeframe available and failure to proceed would have had a significant adverse impact on service delivery and patient care.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
ESHT
District General Hospital
Eastbourne
Bn21 2ud
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution
70 Fleet Street
London
EC4Y 1EU
Country
United Kingdom