Market Engagement Notice: Post-discharge care and support for people with a Learning Disability and/or Autistic Spectrum Disorder for the NHS England (South) area.

This notice is placed in order to facilitate early engagement with providers and commissioners about how NHS England (South) can most effectively commission the types and levels of care and support that patients with a learning disability and/or autism will need on discharge from specialist mental health inpatient units. Prospective bidders and interested organisations are warmly invited to a market engagement event being held on Wednesday 29th November 2017 in Bristol.

NHS England (South) are seeking provider input to help establish what services will be required, as well as providing the market with an opportunity to prepare for the scale of additional care and support that will be required to reduce the number of patients with a learning disability and/or autism in specialist mental health inpatient units, in order to achieve the targets as set out in Transforming Care (see below). The potential procurement process is to be determined, with options such as framework agreements under consideration.

Service background Transforming Care, Next Steps 2015 sets out the target to getting the right care in the right place, ensuring that people with a learning disability and/or autism in hospital can be supported to be discharged and live in a community setting as soon as possible. We would welcome attendance from those organisations or individuals who may be interested in bidding/providing for these services, either in their own right or as a subcontractor.

It will be an opportunity to meet with the Commissioners, hear more about the services in the region and discuss the critical issues, challenges and opportunities that relate to commissioning and provision of these service. There will also be an opportunity for providers to engage and explore models of provision and contracting that will deliver the range and scope of care and support services that are required.

If you would like to book a place, please register an expression of interest on the In-Tend e-procurement portal, as well as completing the Event Registration Questionnaire, by 12:00 midday on Wednesday 22nd November 2017, stating your organisation along with the names and titles of those wishing to attend. In order to establish fair representation, availability for this event is limited to a maximum of three individuals per organisation.

Venue details and further information will be provided to interested parties on receipt of completed Registration Questionnaire. This notice is part of an information gathering and engagement exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right, and therefore publication or response does not commit NHS England or respondents to a future procurement, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest.

NHS England will not be liable for costs incurred by any interested party in participating in this exercise. Further information in the additional text section. Additional information: To register on In-Tend please visit: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Registration You can access the project on In-Tend directly using the following link: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/ProjectManage/499 In order to return the Event Registration Questionnaire, you will need to 'express an interest' and register on the In-Tend portal, and then upload the completed questionnaire to the placeholder provided.