To Provide Non-acute intermediate care beds (step-up, step-down & rehabilitation) in Harrow for North West London Integrated Care Board - Request for Information

North West London Integrated Care Board (ICB) seeks the views of Providers in commissioning for the provision of local community beds (step-up, step-down rehabilitation) for a wide range of conditions which are located in acute, intermediate care and community facilities. The aim of the service is to provide medical, nursing, and therapeutic inpatient rehabilitation for patients that are registered with a North West London GP.

The objective is to provide multidisciplinary assessments of patients from the local Trust and discharge patients to the most appropriate setting via the trusted assessor team based at Northwick Park Hospital. In 2017, NHS Harrow borough originally developed a new integrated care pathway for adults and frail elderly people to avoid hospital admissions, support early discharge and promote effective rehabilitation and reablement, wherever possible in a community setting.

The main acute hospital, London North West University Hospital Trust, was consistently subject to increasing demands for rehabilitation and acute treatment beds. Since its inception the Intermediate Care Beds has provided a route for patients who have received Acute Care from both elective and non-elective procedures or treatment.

Predominantly the Intermediate Care Beds have ensured that patients are not occupying Acute Beds for lengthy periods of time when their onward therapy needs can be met within this current service. As North West London moved to managing their community rehabilitation beds capacity across the system, the beds commissioned by Harrow borough were opened up from patient’s with a Harrow GP only, to patient’s registered with any North West London GP.

NHS NWL ICB and its partners all recognise the need to evolve this service to provide a wider range of nursing care services to patients. Current practice with regards to the discharge of patients has a number of issues and tensions that can contribute to delaying a patient’s expeditious discharge to an Intermediate Care Bed, particularly around the strict criteria for admittance to an ICB funded bed.

The ICB is now exploring the opportunity to re-procure this service and is would very much appreciate the views and feedback from possible providers of the services. North West London Integrated Care Board is therefore undertaking a market engagement exercise via a Request for Information questionnaire (RFI).

This is a process designed to help North West London Integrated Care Board (ICB) form a view of the best way to commission the service; it is not the beginning of a tender exercise. A further tender advertisement will be issued at the appropriate time where required.

The ICB reserves the right to amend or change all and any aspects discussed in this exercise if a decision to move to formal procurement is made. This early engagement exercise does not guarantee the tendering of any services taking place.

Your feedback at this point will not have a bearing on any future tender submissions you may wish to offer. You will not be disadvantaged if you choose not to respond to the RFI.

It will be incredibly helpful to understand your views and insights at this early stage, so you are encouraged to respond as fully as you can as any feedback could inform the specification and any future tendering opportunity. Thank you for your time and participation.

Additional information: To access the documents and participate, please register and apply via Atamis e-sourcing portal: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome

North West London Procurement Services (NWLPS) is a Collaborative Procurement Organisation. The ICB and CLCH have instructed NWLPS to act as their procurement representative, therefore, any communications during this market engagement stage is on behalf of the ICB and CLCH.

NWLPS is an agent of the ICB and CLCH, acting on their behalf solely to carry out the market engagement. All decisions will be made by the ICB and CLCH.