Interim provider for Children’s Community Health Services to the Bristol & South Gloucestershire areas

NHS Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), NHS South Gloucestershire CCG, Bristol City Council, South Gloucestershire Council, North Somerset Council and NHS England are commissioners of health and social care services, jointly responsible for commissioning the majority of health and social care services in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Services are purchased from a range of sources including primary care, acute trusts, community providers, charities, social enterprises and private providers.

The aforementioned commissioners have an urgent need to commission interim provision of those services currently provided under the banner of the Community Children’s Health Partnership. The current service provided by North Bristol NHS Trust is due to cease on March 31st 2016, so an interim provider is required to take over the operation and management of the service from that time.

The interim provider will be expected to continue to provide the service in an ‘as is’ state, working with all existing partners and sub-contractors, and in particular Barnardos – a key partner to the current provider. The service is complex in nature, and the commissioners are therefore seeking a suitably qualified and experienced provider (or partnership of providers) of services of a similar nature.

The commissioners are proposing that an interim provider be appointed to take control of the service on an ‘as is’ basis for an initial 1 year period, subject to the completion of a successful substantive re-commissioning process that will see a new long-term provider appointed from 1st April 2017. Due to the urgent requirement for an interim provider, the commissioners will be conducting a tender process in order to rapidly but safely award the service.

Further details will be available upon expressing interest in this advert Bidders should note that due to the urgent requirement to advertise for an interim provider, formal approval by all named commissioners will be confirmed prior to the identification of a preferred bidder. We anticipate identifying a preferred bidder for the service in late August or early September 2015.

The Commissioners are seeking an interim provider for an initial term of 1 year. In recognition of the complex nature of the services, the Commissioners also reserve the right to extend the service for any period(s) up to a maximum of a further 12 months.

To formally express interest in the interim provision of the service, and receive full details, please respond through the In-Tend portal at https://in-tendhost.co.uk/swcsu/aspx/ProjectManage/50. The closing date for the submission of Outline Proposals is midday on 24th July 2015. Bidders selected as part of the Outline Proposal stage will be invited to further negotiate on the proposed interim arrangements in August 2015, leading to the identification of a preferred bidder by September 2015.