Market Engagement Notice: Sexual Assault Referral Centre Services for Thames Valley

NHS England (South Central) and Thames Valley Police are seeking to jointly re-commission Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) services in Thames Valley. The procurement is anticipated to commence mid-July 2017 and the contract is anticipated to begin 1st April 2018.

The total value for these services is circa £2.5m over three years. This procurement is being carried out by NHS South, Central & West (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.

The commissioners are seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) from providers who have the capability and capacity to undertake such a contract and would wish to take to part in a potential procurement exercise. NHS England (South Central) is responsible for Commissioning and ensuring the provision of accessible, effective and appropriate SARC (Sexual Assault Referral Centre) services for victims of sexual violence.

The Thames Valley SARC will deliver the following services through the SARC provision: • Acute healthcare and support • Comprehensive forensic medical examination • Follow up services, which address the client's medical, psychological and on-going needs • Direct access to referral to Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) • Co-ordinating the smooth running of the SARC services and liaising with partner organisations to ensure the profile of the service is maintained. Thames Valley has a population of 2.34 million.

The Police Force area covers the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and is a mixture of sparsely populated rural areas and densely populated urban areas. The current service is due to cease on 31st March 2018.

NHS England therefore intends to re-commission the SARC service from 1st April 2018. Further information in the additional text section.

Additional information: A copy of the Thames Valley Sexual Assault Health Needs Assessment 2016 has been made available to prospective bidders with this notice. 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/405 In order to return the Provider Sounding 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.

This notice is an information gathering 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.

The Services are healthcare services within the meaning and scope of Annex XIV of Directive 2014/24/EU ("the Directive") and Schedule 3 to the Public Contract Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations"). The tendering process will be conducted in accordance with the requirements and flexibilities provided by Articles 74 to 76 of the Directive, and Regulations 74 to 76 of the Regulations.

The Authority will run a transparent tender process, treating all bidders equally. For the avoidance of doubt, the Authority will not be bound by the Regulations or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or any other regulations or legislation except for the specific parts or circumstances that apply to the procurement of these Services.

Neither the inclusion of a bidder selection stage, nor the use of any language or terms found in the Directive or Regulations, nor the description of the procedure voluntarily adopted by the Authority ("Open", "Restricted", "Competitive Procedure with Negotiation", "Competitive Dialogue" or any other description), nor any other indication, shall be taken to mean that the Authority intends to hold itself bound by the Directive or Regulations, save by the provisions applicable to services coming within the scope of Annex XIV of the Directive / Schedule 3 of the Regulations. The services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations") which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but is instead governed by the "Light Touch Regime" contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77).