NHS ICB SE Region - GP and Corporate IT Optimisation Programme

Market Engagement Phase 1

The members of the South-East (SE) NHS Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) Collaboration (in their current form) are:

NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB

NHS Frimley ICB

NHS Kent and Medway ICB

NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB

NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB

NHS Sussex ICB

For the purpose of this Market Engagement advert NHS Sussex ICB is the lead Authority (subject to potential future change). The NHS England National Commercial and Procurement Hub is issuing this Market Engagement notice on behalf of the lead Authority.

Due to national changes within the NHS the landscape of the ICBs within the SE are due to change. This is likely to result in a reduction in the number of SE ICBs with also potential reduction of staffing within the ICBs, but it is not anticipated that GPIT staff will reduce. GPIT staffing is more likely to have a year-on-year increase.

The SE NHS ICBs are issuing this Market Engagement notice to commence the engagement with interested Suppliers to respond to and provide the intelligence to inform the strategy development around the future of ensuring ICBs and GPs have the ongoing necessary IT support and services.

The intention is for SE NHS ICBs to:

• Better understand the composition and characteristics of the market
• Explore mitigations to the potential (downside) risks and challenges early should the region undertake a procurement process
• Raise market awareness and stimulate interest in a potential future procurement process
• Stimulate competition and collaboration in the market to ensure the best possible value for money whilst also supporting sustainability within the market
• Explore levels and trends in price, quality and choice and the impact of effective competition on the market

As part of the Phase 1 Market Engagement Suppliers are requested to express an interest, complete a MS Forms questionnaire and an associated excel requirements document.

Submissions of these documents is 5pm on 15th December 2025.

The instructions required for completion and supporting documents can be downloaded from the Atamis e-tendering portal. Atamis Contract Reference: C399908. You may need to register on Atamis if you have not done so already.

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Background and further details:

The forthcoming planned closure of Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) in March 2027 creates a pressing need for ICBs across the NHS South East ICB region to secure sustainable, high-quality digital support services. These services are essential to maintain and enhance both corporate IT functions and the delivery of GPIT, ensuring continuity of operations and alignment with national digital transformation priorities. Without a coordinated approach, there is a risk of fragmentation, duplication, and inefficiencies that could undermine the resilience and effectiveness of digital infrastructure across the region.

In recognition of this, the SE NHS ICBs are collaborating to consider how they might meet their GP IT and Corporate IT requirement via a single, region-wide service that can deliver economies of scale, consistency of standards, and improved value for money.

A unified approach will enable the region to leverage collective expertise, reduce variation in service quality, and ensure that digital support is delivered in a way that is both scalable and adaptable to local needs. This model will also strengthen the region’s ability to respond to evolving national requirements, any further organisational changes within the region, and support the ambitions of the new GPIT operating model.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• End-user support and service desk provision
• Infrastructure management and cloud services
• Cybersecurity and data protection
• GPIT support aligned to the new operating model

In their current form the 6 ICBs are responsible for the delivery of General Practice IT (GPIT) services and support to approximately 210 PCNs with approximately 800 General Practices and to ensure Corporate ICB staff have the necessary IT service and support. Total number of staff approximately 35,000 in the PCNs / General Practices (GP) and ICB Corporate, predominantly all located throughout the SE including neighbouring Counties, Isle of Wight and with a few exceptions in other parts of mainland England. GPIT staff generally are located within the GP practices with a small number working from home (WFH). Across the workforce there remains the need to support hybrid ways of working.

The SE NHS ICBs reserves the right not to proceed with a procurement, and it is also subject to further internal governance approval. The SE NHS ICBs will not be liable for any costs incurred by any interested party in relation to this opportunity.

The values provide as part of this advert (£120m inclusive of VAT over the proposed initial term of 5 years and the 3 years extension term) are anticipated maximum value and are purely indicative for this Market Engagement advert. Therefore, this value will be subject to change.  Values may also change subject to VAT being fully or partially recoverable.

The Market Engagement will assist the region in considering the development of a procurement strategy that will inform an options appraisal of the future direction of travel for the region and how we can optimise our ask to achieve the best value from the market.