AWARD NOTICE - NHS Commissioning Board (NHS England & NHS Improvement South East and South West): Provision of School Aged Immunisations for Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth, Isle of Wight & Dorset

NHS England & NHS Improvement South East and South West sought to commission immunisation programmes aimed at school aged children across the following three geographical lots:

• Dorset (including Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole)
• Hampshire
• Solent (Portsmouth, Southampton & the Isle of Wight)

The purpose of national immunisation programmes is to protect the population from vaccine preventable illnesses and reduce the associated morbidity and mortality and the burden this places on health services. This includes reducing the risk of individuals infecting others (herd immunity), particularly those who cannot be vaccinated either because they are too young or for medical reasons. Collectively the programmes protect young people against a range of infectious diseases which can lead to death or severe, permanent disability requiring long term care such as limb amputations, brain injury, paralysis and cancer.

The aim of the project is to secure provision, for each of the Lots, which can achieve and sustain high levels of coverage of the immunisation programmes in scope overall as well as at the level of individual schools/communities and population groups e.g. those who typically have difficulty accessing services. Coverage will be measured in the year the vaccination is first offered and in subsequent school years. The ambition is to be in the top quartile for the country for each vaccination programme and in each lot.

There are currently four programmes for children of school age relevant to this procurement:

• the Seasonal Influenza immunisation programme
• the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) immunisation programme
• the Tetanus, Diphtheria and inactivated Polio (Td/IPV) adolescent booster programme
• the Meningitis ACWY immunisation programme

In addition, the provider will offer a catch-up service for under-immunised children in line with the national measles eradication strategy.

The programmes are continually evolving. By 2020, the HPV programme will have been extended to boys as well as girls and the flu programme will have been extended to school year 6. Further school years may be announced for the flu programme in due course. The scope may also be extended in future to include additional programmes, as advised/ recommended by the Joint Committee of Vaccinations and Immunisations and/or at the request of the commissioner. Any provider will have to demonstrate an ability to respond positively to programme changes and implement them in a timely fashion to a high standard.

The contract term will be 5 years, with the option to extend by a further 2 years, and will commence on 1st August 2020.

Interested parties were allowed to bid for one or more lots. Evaluations were based on Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT).

This procurement was carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.

Additional information: 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).