Find a TenderClosed
Published 6 Aug 2026, 12:40 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Provision of General Medical Services at Tollgate Practice, Colchester

Official notice

Authority: NHS Essex Integrated Care Board (NHS & healthcare)

ServicesOpen procedure
Published estimate£21,896,492≈ £2.2m / year
Submissions closed 12 Oct 2026
Next notice expected 26 Aug 2026
Contract term 10 yrsends 31 Mar 2037 · starts 1 Apr 2027

What is being bought

Published requirement description

NHS Essex Integrated Care Board (the Authority) is undertaking a competitive procurement process under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 for the award of a General Medical Services (GMS) contract for Tollgate Practice, located in Stanway, Colchester.<br/><br/>The procurement seeks to identify a suitably qualified and experienced provider to deliver safe, effective, sustainable and accessible primary medical services to the registered patient population of Tollgate Practice. The commercial schedule currently assumes an actual patient list of 10,206 and a weighted patient list of approximately 8,832, subject to future list size adjustments in line with national General Medical Services arrangements.<br/><br/>The successful provider will be required to deliver the full range of services associated with a nationally prescribed GMS contract, including management of a registered patient list, provision of core primary medical services, clinical governance, workforce management, patient access requirements and integration with local health and care services.<br/><br/>The procurement is being undertaken following caretaker arrangements that were implemented to maintain continuity of services whilst the practice recovered from historical quality and regulatory concerns.<br/><br/>The contract is intended to secure the long-term provision of stable and resilient primary medical services beyond the caretaker period.

CPV: General-practitioner services · Health services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · value published
Lot #1The Authority is seeking expressions of interest from providers capable of delivering… 10 yrsPublished value£21,896,492

The Authority is seeking expressions of interest from providers capable of delivering General Medical Services from Tollgate Practice in Colchester.<br/><br/>The contract will be awarded using the Competitive Process under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.<br/><br/>The procurement has been selected because the Authority has determined that neither a direct award process nor the most suitable provider process is appropriate in the circumstances.<br/><br/>The successful provider will be required to:<br/>

  • Deliver all mandatory General Medical Services in accordance with the NHS General Medical Services Contract Regulations.<br/>
  • Maintain and manage a registered patient list of approximately 10,206 patients.<br/>
  • Provide safe, effective and responsive primary medical services from the existing practice premises.<br/>
  • Demonstrate robust clinical governance, safeguarding and information governance arrangements.<br/>
  • Deliver resilient workforce and mobilisation arrangements.<br/>
  • Integrate effectively with local Primary Care Network, neighbourhood and wider health and care services.<br/>
  • Support the reduction of health inequalities and maintain patient access and continuity of care.<br/><br/>Providers will be required to satisfy proportionate basic selection criteria relating to legal and regulatory compliance, economic and financial standing, technical and professional capability, workforce capacity and service mobilisation.<br/><br/>The Authority wishes to draw attention to the fact that delivery of this service is intrinsically linked to a fixed practice location, a registered patient population and the maintenance of continuous primary medical services from day one of contract commencement. Providers should carefully consider their ability to mobilise and sustain an onsite workforce, provide consistent clinical and operational leadership, establish effective working relationships with local partners and operate safely within existing referral pathways and neighbourhood arrangements. The Authority expects bidders to demonstrate a realistic, deliverable mobilisation approach that reflects these requirements.<br/><br/>The Authority intends to assess providers against the 5 key criteria that reflect the requirements of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The weighted tender questions and evaluation criteria will be aligned to each of the five key criteria.<br/><br/>The Estimated Total Value of the contract is £21,896,491.60. For the purpose of calculating the estimated total value for this notice, a notional 20-year term has been applied to reflect the perpetual nature of a GMS contract.<br/><br/>This estimate is based on an annual Global Sum of £1,094,825 (exclusive of VAT), representing the estimated annual baseline General Medical Services contract value. The calculation is based on current commercial assumptions of £123.96 per weighted patient and a Contractor Weighted Population of approximately 8,832.<br/><br/>Future list size changes will be adjusted in line with the contract rate and applicable national General Medical Services arrangements. The baseline value excludes enhanced services, Primary Care Network income and premises reimbursement costs. Premises rent, business rates and water rates are reimbursable and payable separately in accordance with applicable primary medical services arrangements. Enhanced services will be provided as indicative values only and are subject to separate service requirements and annual arrangements. <br/><br/>The anticipated service commencement date is 1 April 2027, subject to completion of the procurement process and any Provider Selection Regime review processes. Additional information: The procurement will be conducted electronically through the Authority's eProcurement portal, Atamis. <br/><br/>To express interest and participate in the Competitive Process, please register and apply via Atamis e-sourcing portal health-family.force.com/s/Welcome ↗<br/><br/>It is free to register on the Atamis portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. Should providers have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal; they should contact the Atamis helpdesk via: [email protected] or phone number 0800 9956035. The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 08:00 - 18:00.<br/><br/>Please note that all suppliers must register on the CDP to participate in this procurement. The Central Digital Platform is an online portal which will make it easier for suppliers to find and bid for contracts, and for buyers to meet their transparency commitments during procurements. It should only take about 10-15 mins to register.<br/><br/>Please see the guidance links regarding how to register below for reference:<br/><br/>www.gov.uk/government/publicati… ↗<br/><br/>Please note that you are only successfully registered once you have received your unique share code.<br/><br/>Useful website: www.gov.uk/find-tender ↗
Contract period: 1 Apr 2027 – 31 Mar 2037 (10 yrs)
Delivery: East of England · The Tollgate Practice, Colchester, Essex.
Variant bids: not allowed

What it takes to win
i

How this buyer will score bids.

The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).

Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add more
Conditions of participation2
  • Suitability

    As set out in the procurement documents

  • Technical & professional ability

    Delivery of the services is restricted to providers eligible to hold a GMS contract under the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2015 (as amended) and associated primary medical services legislation. Providers must satisfy all applicable professional, regulatory and statutory requirements.

Staff
Names and qualifications of delivery staff must be submitted

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record · publisher note attached
Procedure method
Open procedure
Legal basis
CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Closed
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
No (one-off requirement)
First published
6 Aug 2026, 12:40 BST
Last source update
26 Aug 2026, 21:54 BST
Award evaluation window
12 Oct 2026 – …
Authority reference
ACE-0002-2026-ESX
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-081546
Classification (CPV)
General-practitioner servicesHealth services
Delivery area
East of England (UKH3)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06dd99 Find a Tender
Contract terms
Performance terms

As set out in the tender documents.

Review and risk notes
Review procedure

Providers may make representations to the Relevant Authority in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. Providers may also seek review by the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel (IPCPP) in accordance with the applicable NHS England guidance and procedures relating to the Provider Selection Regime.

Publisher note: The Authority may wish to introduce additional / expand the Service during the lifetime of the Proposed Contract (“Permitted modification(s)”), in the following potential circumstances and/or situations where necessary and where the Proposed Contract sets out the terms relating to the triggering of these options: <br/><br/>During the term of the contract, modifications may be made where permitted by the NHS General Medical Services Regulations, the Provider Selection Regime and applicable legislation. Such modifications may include, but are not limited to, annual national contract variations, funding uplifts, service specification changes, performance and reporting requirements, digital and information governance requirements, workforce and premises changes, integration with local healthcare services, health inequalities initiatives, sustainability requirements, organisational changes, contract extensions, and changes required by law, regulation or national NHS policy.<br/><br/>The information contained in this Contract Notice and associated procurement documents is provided in good faith for the purposes of this procurement process. Whilst the Authority believes the information provided to be accurate at the date of publication, no warranty or representation is given as to its accuracy, completeness or adequacy.<br/><br/>Bidders are responsible for undertaking their own due diligence, obtaining independent advice where appropriate, and forming their own conclusions regarding the opportunity. <br/><br/>The Authority reserves the right to amend, suspend, withdraw, cancel or vary the procurement process, timetable, requirements or documentation at any time in accordance with applicable legislation and shall not be liable for any costs, expenses or losses incurred by bidders in connection with participation in the process.<br/><br/>Submission of a bid does not create any binding contractual relationship with the Authority. Any contract shall arise only upon formal execution of the contract by the relevant parties. The Authority reserves the right to award all, part, or none of the services described in this notice.

How it was run

Official notice
Run through: Atamis (Health Family) · Who buys & how to bid on Atamis
Supplier login requiredLanguage: EN
Access & registration note: Free · one account PER buying organisation portal · password resets come "from Salesforce.com" (check spam)

Tender documents are also served through a separate tool: https://atamis-1928.my.site.com/s/Welcome ↗

Submission deadline
12 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
Submission channel
{"electronicSubmission","written"}
Accepted languages
en
Bid validity
180 days from the deadline
Bids opened
12 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
Detailed submission instructions & authority contactsFrom official release

Timeline

26 Aug 2026 → 1 Apr 2027 · 5 dates
  1. Next notice expected62 days ago
    26 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST
  2. Notice published61 days ago
    26 Aug 2026, 21:54 BST
  3. Submission deadline14 days ago
    12 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
  4. Bids opened14 days ago
    12 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
  5. Today
    26 Oct 2026
  6. Contract startsin 156 days
    1 Apr 2027, 00:00 BST

Notice history

3 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 26 Aug 2026
  1. Status changed to active
    26 Aug 2026, 21:54 BST
  2. Procurement method changed
    26 Aug 2026, 21:54 BST
  3. Deadline published: 12 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
    26 Aug 2026, 21:54 BST

Contracting authority & participating public bodies

NHS Essex Integrated Care Board

Contracting authorityNHS & healthcareBody governed by public lawHealth First Floor, Seax House, Victoria Road, Chelmsford, UK, D7T5GContact name, email Published organisation website ↗

Dispute resolution & review bodies

  • NHS England Independent Patient Choice and Procurement PanelReview bodyReview contact point London

Official documents & specifications (2)

Official links; attachments are not copied

Tender pack and attachments

  • Economic and financial selection criteriatenderEconomic and financial selection criteria
  • Technical selection criteriatenderTechnical selection criteria