Official UK procurement notice
Discharge to Assess Community Beds
Authority: NHS Bristol North Somerset & South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board have awarded a time limited contract for the provision of 8 P2 Pathway Discharge to Assess Beds to Brunelcare Ltd under urgent circumstances. These beds will be delivered at Orchard Grove operated by Brunelcare Ltd.
The system is facing an immediate and unplanned capacity shortfall from April 2026 and creates a direct and imminent risk to patient safety and system flow, which could not reasonably have been fully mitigated through earlier procurement action given the reliance on transformation programmes that were, at the time, expected to reduce demand within the existing contracted capacity.
Pathway 2 (P2) beds form part of the Discharge to Assess (D2A) model and are intended for individuals who are medically optimised for discharge from acute hospital settings but require a short period of ongoing recovery, rehabilitation, and/or assessment prior to returning home or moving to a more appropriate long-term care setting.
P2 beds are typically provided within community-based rehabilitation units, step-down facilities, or care home environments and focus on enabling individuals to regain independence, reduce care needs where possible, and support safe discharge through multidisciplinary input, including therapy and clinical oversight where required.
The service is VAT‑exempt, and all contract values stated are excluding VAT
CPV: Residential nursing care services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board have…Awarded
NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board have awarded a time limited contract in accordance with Regulation 14 of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 for the provision of 8 P2 Pathway Discharge to Assess Beds to Brunelcare Ltd under urgent circumstances. These beds will be delivered at Orchard Grove operated by Brunelcare Ltd.
The system is facing an immediate and unplanned capacity shortfall from April 2026 and creates a direct and imminent risk to patient safety and system flow, which could not reasonably have been fully mitigated through earlier procurement action given the reliance on transformation programmes that were, at the time, expected to reduce demand within the existing contracted capacity.
Pathway 2 (P2) beds form part of the Discharge to Assess (D2A) model and are intended for individuals who are medically optimised for discharge from acute hospital settings but require a short period of ongoing recovery, rehabilitation, and/or assessment prior to returning home or moving to a more appropriate long-term care setting.
P2 beds are typically provided within community-based rehabilitation units, step-down facilities, or care home environments and focus on enabling individuals to regain independence, reduce care needs where possible, and support safe discharge through multidisciplinary input, including therapy and clinical oversight where required.
The service is VAT‑exempt, and all contract values stated are excluding VAT
The total lifetime value of the contract will be a maximum of £727,619.03
The contract value stated is exclusive of VAT. The services being procured constitute VAT-exempt welfare services provided by a registered care home
The contract term will commence 01 April 2026 for up to a maximum period of 12 months ending 31 March 2027.
From 01 April 2026, NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board and NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board will operate under a clustered model, comprising shared leadership and functions; however, each Integrated Care Board will remain a separate statutory organisation with its own legal responsibilities. This arrangement is relevant to the future commissioning approach but does not alter the accountability for this contract award.
This notice has been published by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 26 Mar 2026, 09:29 GMT
- Last source update
- 13 Apr 2026, 09:57 BST
- Authority reference
WA14269- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-033082- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06748eFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
The contract has been awarded without prior publication due to extreme urgency brought about by events that were not reasonably foreseeable by NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board. The immediate requirement to secure additional Discharge to Assess Pathway 2 capacity to support hospital discharge and patient safety could not be met within the timescales of a competitive process. NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board has therefore relied on the urgent award provisions under Regulation 14 of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) confirmation of contract award notice. This contract has been awarded under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and The Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this award.
Publisher note: NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board consider this to be an urgent situation in accordance with Regulation 14 of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, as the requirement to secure additional Pathway 2 capacity has arisen from an immediate and unforeseen system pressure. The timescales required to undertake a full provider selection process would not have enabled sufficient capacity to be mobilised in advance of the identified risk period, thereby creating a material risk to patient safety, hospital flow, and system resilience. The contract length will be a maximum of 12 months from 01 April 2026. The decision to award the contract was made by NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board's Interim Deputy Chief Executive in line with the ICB's Standing Financial Instructions. No conflicts or potential conflicts of interest were declared. NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board has processes in place to identify and manage conflicts in accordance with its governance framework. This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) confirmation of contract award notice. This contract has been awarded under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and The Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this award.
Notice history
2 releases on Find a TenderPublished amendments (1)
The contract period commenced on 1st April 2026 for an initial 18-month contract and an optional 12-month extension. The total expected value of the contract for the initial 18-month contract term is £2,189,295.77 excluding VAT The optional 12-month extension expected value of the contract is £1,463,355.18 excluding VAT. Therefore, the full expected lifetime contract value (18-month + optional 12-…
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brunelcare | £727,619 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 027670-2026-1 · Brunelcare
- Signed
- 25 Mar 2026
- Value
- £727,619
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1bids | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Brunelcare LtdAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.