Children's Speech and Language Therapy in County Durham

North of England Commissioning Support is working for and on behalf of NHS North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board - County Durham place and is managing this market engagement exercise for the provision of Children's Speech and Language Therapy in County Durham. The Relevant Authority is issuing this Prior Information Notice (PIN) as a Request for Information (RFI) to engage with the market and to gather information in order to gain a better understanding of both the capacity and appetite of the market in delivering the proposed services. This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intended approach notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. It is important to note that this PIN/RFI is not a call for competition and as such you will need to express your interest in any future tender opportunity once the contract notice is published on Find a Tender Service. It should also be noted that this PIN/RFI invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this RFI exercise only, and it is NOT a pre-qualification questionnaire, and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process. This PIN/RFI is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise. An expression of interest is no indication of a commitment to participate in the RFI process nor does it infer any preferential or special status on those individuals and organisations who express an interest in the RFI exercise. NECS is utilising an electronic tendering tool to manage this RFI exercise and communicate with potential providers. Accordingly, there will be no hard copy documents issued to potential providers and all communications with NECS, including RFI submissions, will be conducted via Atamis: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome If you have already registered on the system (e.g. to access contracts with another Health Family organisation) then there is no need to re-register. If you have not already done so you should now register as a Supplier on the shared system. You can register here: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome It is free to register on the portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. If you find that you need any advice or support in registering, please contact the Atamis helpdesk using the following details: Phone: 0800 9956035 E-mail: support-health@atamis.co.uk Opening times 8am - 6pm The RFI documentation will be accessible from Friday 12 July 2024 and completed RFI responses must be returned by 17:00 on Friday 26 July 2024. Potential providers are to note that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (as amended) may apply to a future procurement including the New Fair Deal non-statutory policy setting out how pensions issues are to be dealt with when staff are compulsorily transferred from the public sector to independent providers delivering public services. Following review of returned RFI responses, should the commissioner wish to seek further clarification to any part of the responses, further market engagement may be carried out. Providers will be made aware of these arrangements via the Atamis system. Additional information: We are excited to invite providers to participate in a request for information process as we seek to enhance and integrate children's therapy services within County Durham. Our vision is to develop a cohesive and comprehensive model that combines speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy to deliver high-quality, holistic care for children. The Relevant Authority are seeking providers who share their commitment to integrated care and are dedicated to working collaboratively to achieve the best outcomes for children. Please see Appendix D of the Request for Information Documentation for further information regarding the future service model.