Enhanced Community Pharmacy Service for the Supply of on Demand Palliative Care and Other Specialist Medication

Description

NHS Midlands & Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (ML CSU) on behalf of the Commissioner, NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) is seeking to commission a provider to deliver end-of-life medicines and urgent community treatment (palliative care drugs) in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Lot 1: NHS Midlands & Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (ML CSU) on behalf of the Commissioner, NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) is seeking to commission a provider or providers to deliver end-of-life medicines and urgent community treatment (palliative care drugs) in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The service is being commissioned via a Competitive Process conducted in line with the Provider Selection Regime for Healthcare Services 2023 which is proportionate to the value and complexity of the service and contract. The Provider Selection Regime applies under common procurement vocabulary (CPV) 85149000-5, as this service is not covered under the community pharmacy services that are arranged under the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/349/contents) The ICB wishes to receive responses to the Invitation to Tenders (ITTs) from suitably qualified and experienced Providers with the necessary skill and experience (or a demonstrable ability to provide the skill and experience) to provide the range of services required. Aims and objectives of the service: • The aim of this enhanced service is to provide service users and clinicians with prompt access to a range of palliative care and specialist medications on an urgent basis. • Improving access to End of Life (EoL) medication is also expected to reduce pressure on secondary care providers and facilitate admission avoidance. If medication needs can be met in a timely manner, more patients will be able to stay at home. • As a further system and workforce benefit, improving the processes for supply and delivery of anticipatory medications will improve productivity and morale in community nursing, community palliative care services and primary care by providing a clear and standardised pathway to obtaining these medications. • The provider must stock a range of palliative care and other specialist medication on an urgent basis. • Upon receipt of an electronic (EPS) prescription marked (in EPS script notes) for "urgent delivery", to facilitate delivery of these items to a home or care home address within LLR so that it arrives within 3 hours of receiving the EPS prescription. The ICB is seeking to award one contract for these services. The contract is anticipated to start on the 1st of October 2024 for 18 months with a contract value of £150,000 for the lifecycle of the contract. The contractual payment terms will be based on a mixed payments contract, a mix of block and cost and volume. There will be a retainer fee and activity-based payments linked to deliveries. It is expected that the bidder works within the total financial envelope of £150,000 (this is inclusive of VAT where applicable), failure to do so will result in a non-compliant bid and automatic elimination as a potential bidder. The invitation to tender (ITT) will be available from 20th of June 2024 on the ML CSU Atamis portal (see below) and it will have a deadline for submissions of 12:00 noon on 15th of July 2024. Bidder clarification questions may be submitted to the Commissioner (via the ML CSU Atamis portal only) during the procurement process between 20th of June 2024 and up to 17:00 hours on the 09th of July 2024. We recommend current providers of similar services, providers who may be interested in providing this service, or other stakeholders who may have an interest in providing this to register on the MLCSU Atamis portal to register their interest and get access to the ITT and all the related procurement documentation.