Procurement for the provision of Sexual Assault Referral Centre Services for Thames Valley

NHS England South (South Central) and Thames Valley Police are seeking to jointly re-commission Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) services in Thames Valley. The commissioners seek tender responses from providers who have the capability and capacity to undertake such a contract.

This procurement is being carried out by NHS South, Central & West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners. The Commissioner will be contracting for the services using the National NHS Standard Contract.

Contracts will be for an initial term of 3 years and are planned to commence from 1st April 2019. The value of the service will be £2,391,635 over three years.

At the discretion of the Commissioner, the contract may be extended for a further 24 months. NHS England's vision for sexual assault services in Thames Valley is: 'To deliver sexual assault services that meet the needs of victims/survivors through a pathway that gives access to appropriate and relevant support for the full range of health and justice services.

Services operating to high standards of provision based on sound clinical quality, operational performance targets and meeting the needs of survivors and stakeholders alike.' Reflecting this vision, and in response to the core considerations from the HNA findings, commissioners seek services across Thames Valley that achieve the following commissioning principles: • Be people-oriented and focused on addressing the diverse needs of victims/survivors • Provide consistency of available services across the Thames Valley • Meet national quality and clinical standards • Provide value and effectiveness of provision • Secure equal access to services across the region (access and travel times) • Ensure 24/7 access to advice, information and referral via telephone • Increase referrals, and self-referrals in particular • Empower people to make informed decisions • Ensure SARCs have a workforce with the required capabilities and competencies and with sufficient cases to maintain and enhance their specialist skills • Be based on fair and equitable funding arrangements for the populations of the Thames Valley • Provide clarity and consistency about services offered to different age groups • Operate as part of a coherent Sexual Assault Pathway • Adapt and respond to changes in demand Interested parties are invited to take part in an Invitation To Tender (ITT) process, based on the Open procedure, and designed to identify the Most Economically Advantageous Tender and therefore determine the incoming provider. The attention of potential bidders is drawn to the availability of a bidder briefing taking place by WebEx on 15th May 2018 and mid-stage tender clarification meetings in week commencing 11th June 2018 - more detail on which are provided within the tender documentation.

Additional information: Interested providers will be able to view the tender opportunity via the 'current tenders' list on the e-procurement system https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home Or access the opportunity directly by following the link below: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/ProjectManage/737 In order to access the tender documentation you will need to 'express an interest' and register on the system. Prior information/market engagement notices were published in relation to this procurement in Dec 2017 and Feb 2018.

Please note that these previous notices were an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right. Although those who responded to these notices will be advised that this contract notice has been published, there will be no process exemptions or preferential treatment afforded to any parties who expressed an interest at that stage.

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). 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 Contracting Authority intends to voluntarily observe the award decision notices provisions and 10 day standstill period described in Regulation 86 of the Regulations.

Unsuccessful Bidders will receive scores and reasons for the decision, including the characteristics and relative advantages of the winning bid and the reasons why the Bidder/application was unsuccessful. Deadline for lodging of appeals sh