Official UK procurement notice
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services - Suffolk
Authority: NHS SUFFOLK AND NORTH EAST ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD (NHS & healthcare)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNon-Emergency Patient Transport Services (NEPTS) provision within the East Suffolk and West Suffolk Alliance footprints. The service is to be provided to all eligible patients, as per NHS E's eligibility criteria.
CPV: Health services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1NEPTS comprises the movement of patients whose condition is not considered an…Awarded
NEPTS comprises the movement of patients whose condition is not considered an 'emergency' and who can, therefore, travel in an ambulance vehicle specified to a lower level of medical provision, or, indeed, a car.
NEPTS are typified by the non-urgent, planned, transportation of patients with a medical need for transport to and from a premises providing NHS healthcare and between NHS healthcare providers.
NEPTS are a key enabler underpinning access to elective care and supporting timely and efficient discharge processes for acute and community providers. Continuity of provision is important for the system to maintain patient flow and stability.
The length of the contract is two years as this allows the necessary time to complete a complex procurement and allow one year for mobilisation, as requested by providers. This also ensures stability of provision whilst procuring and prevents additional interim running costs, and the potential for high service transfer costs for a short contract period.
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board are awarding the contract named within this notice due to an urgent circumstance which is outlined within the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.
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
- 21 Mar 2024, 09:00 GMT
- Last source update
- 21 Mar 2024, 09:00 GMT
- FTS notice number
2024/S 000-009119- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-044b0dFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority/entity and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive
- Published justification
The recent NEPTS procurement was abandoned following challenge. This did not leave the ICB with enough time to complete a full procurement for the new service and allow sufficient time for mobilisation before the existing contract expired. Due to the need to maintain stability, continuity and prevent unnecessary costs the ICB have awarded this contract to the incumbent provider.
To enable the procurement of a new NEPTS service the contract length needs to be long enough to allow time to procure and mobilise; and prevent disproportionate additional costs of transferring / competing a short-term contract. The incumbent provider has been awarded a two-year contract, commencing on 1 April 2024, ending on 31 March 2026 with no option of extension.
Publisher note: This contract has been awarded under the urgent circumstances provision of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). 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 do not apply to this award. This award is being made urgently and the reason for the urgency was not foreseen by the ICB for the reasons outlined within this notice. This award is being made in order to prevent risk to patient and public safety, and the ICB is not able to satisfy the requirements of regulations 6 - 13 for the reasons outlined below. The decision to award the contract was made by the ICB Board in November 2023, having the support of the Executive Committee and Audit Committee prior to Board decision. No conflicts of interest, or potential conflicts of interest, were declared by any decision makers.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-zec Medical Transport Services Limited | £13,459,584 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services - Suffolk · E-zec Medical Transport Services Limited
- Signed
- 28 Nov 2023
- Value
- £13,459,584
- 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- Ezec Medical Transport Services - trading as EMED Group LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.