GP Special Allocation Scheme (SAS) Service - Early Market Engagement, Norfolk and Waveney

*This is a Prior Information Notice (PIN) for Expressions of Interest (EOI)* NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB is conducting an initial market engagement exercise to establish potential interest to deliver a GP Special Allocation Scheme (SAS) Service in Norfolk and Waveney.

The GP Special Allocation Scheme is for patients who have been referred by their existing GP. There are currently 108 patients that are being treated in the Scheme.

It is anticipated that the contract shall start within the early 2026/27 financial year and the estimated contract value will be circa £150,000 per annum. The contract is expected to be for 3 years, with an option to extend for a further 2, with an estimated lifetime value of £750,000.

The service will be required to provide good quality, safe primary medical services for this group of vulnerable and challenging patients and ensure a consistent approach to service provision across Norfolk and Waveney. The new service provision will ensure that patients assigned to the Special Allocation Scheme are cared for in an individual manner, involving multi-disciplinary teams that will seek to ensure their successful return to general primary medical services and registration with a GP practice.

Please note that an Expression of Interest in this market engagement will not automatically entitle involvement in any future procurement exercise. Any procurement(s) conducted as a result of this event will be advertised separately and all organisations wanting to participate will need to respond to the procurement advertisement as and when it may be published.

Potentially interested parties are invited to feedback their comments with regard to their interest, capacity, capability and readiness in delivering these services in Norfolk and Waveney. Commissioners wish to understand:

Are you currently providing a Special Allocation Scheme for patients? Are you providing any other services under an APMS Contract?

If so, please state which Commissioner your contract is with and provide contract start and end dates? 3. Does your organisation have the capability, capacity and readiness to provide the GP Special Allocation Scheme (SAS) Service across Norfolk and Waveney?

If so, please provide further details. Please provide a short overview of your area of expertise and previous experience of delivering Special Allocation Scheme Services. 4.

Taking into account the potential number of patients that are referred to the Special Allocation Scheme and the quality-of-service provision required, do you consider your organisation able to provide this service within the indicative envelope over the full contract term? Providers are requested to answer these questions within the Atamis requirements section when registering interest (via https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome ref C423998)

NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB is not bound to follow any particular procurement process at this stage. Responding to this EOI will not guarantee providers further involvement in any future process the ICB decides to follow.

The ICB has not determined which Procurement process to follow at this stage of Early Engagement. NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB is conducting an initial market engagement exercise to establish potential interest to deliver a GP Special Allocation Scheme (SAS) Service in Norfolk and Waveney.

The GP Special Allocation Scheme is for patients who have been referred by their existing GP. There are currently 108 patients that are being treated in the Scheme.

It is anticipated that the contract shall start within the early 2026/27 financial year and the estimated contract value will be circa £150,000 per annum. Any proposed contract will be for a period of 4 years plus the option to extend for up to an additional 2 years, however this may be subject to change.

The service will be required to provide good quality, safe primary medical services for this group of vulnerable and challenging patients and ensure a consistent approach to service provision across Norfolk and Waveney. The new service provision will ensure that patients assigned to the Special Allocation Scheme are cared for in an individual manner, involving multi-disciplinary teams that will seek to ensure their successful return to general primary medical services and registration with a GP practice.

Please note that an expression of interest in this market engagement will not automatically entitle involvement in any future procurement exercise. Any procurement(s) conducted as a result of this event will be advertised separately and all organisations wanting to participate will need to respond to the procurement advertisement as and when it may be published.

The Commissioners are keen to receive early market feedback via an online questionnaire to support the development of new service specification. The aim of this Expression of Interest is to; 1. provide the market with visibility of the proposed opportunity; 2. support the ICB decision making to inform the future commissioning of services (as applicable); 3. to help define the future service approach, model and timelines; 4. to gauge the level of interest from the market of capable providers with capacity across the region to deliver the services noted above.

A further advertisement will be issued at the appropriate time. The deadline for Soft Market Testing responses is by 17:00 hours on 6th March 2026.

Please note this is a market testing exercise and does not commit the ICB to carry out any further procurement process. Current services will remain in place during this period in line with existing contracts and service level agreements.

Any future opportunity will be carried out in accordance with the ICB’s procurement obligations under the Provider Selection Regime. This is an early market engagement exercise only and at this stage the proposed contract length and anticipated contract value are to be determined and will be communicated during any future next steps.

Please note that whilst this market engagement has been advertised on behalf of NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB and NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB, from the 1st April 2026 the ICBs will merge together and form the new NHS Norfolk and Suffolk ICB. The Contracting Authority will be using an eTendering system for this market testing exercise.

The online questionnaire can be found via the ‘Live Opportunities’ list on the e-procurement system at the following link: https://atamis-1928.my.site.com/s/Welcome You can search for the opportunity by entering the following contract reference: C423998 - GP Special Allocation Scheme (SAS) Service Early Market Engagement.

Additional information: The Contracting Authority will be using an eTendering system for this market testing exercise. The online questionnaire can be found via the ‘Live Opportunities’ list on the e-procurement system at the following link: https://atamis-1928.my.site.com/s/Welcome You can search for the opportunity by entering the following contract reference: C423998 - GP Special Allocation Scheme (SAS) Service Early Market Engagement