DHSC Nursing and Nursing Associates Engagement

Description

The Authority (Department of Health and Social Care) is publishing this Invitation to tender for the procurement of Nursing and Nursing Associate Engagement.<br/>In December 2021, the government published ‘People at the Heart of Care: Adult Social Care Reform White Paper’ which outlined a 10-year vision including reforms for how we will transform support and care in England, and work “to build a workforce of the right size with the right skills to meet the growing need for care and support”. In April 2023, the government published ‘Next steps to put People at the Heart of Care’, outlining a clear plan on how to achieve this. In 2024 the government announced the latest tranche of workforce reforms including the launch of the first ever national career structure for the care workforce, alongside a new nationally accredited social care qualification, and social work and social care nursing apprenticeships. <br/>The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) are seeking to secure a supplier to deliver support to aid the recruitment and retention of nurses and nursing associates in the Adult Social Care (ASC) workforce that will form an integral part of the new core adult social care workforce support and improvement offer and will compliment the nursing apprenticeship fund. <br/>The contract start date is anticipated to be 1st August 2024 and up to March 2026, with an option to extend once for a further twelve months, at Authority sole discretion subjected to approval and funds.<br/>The suppliers can register their interest via Atamis portal with reference C266289.<br/>This procurement follows the Open procedure route with Light touch regime (LTR) under The Public Contract Regulation 2015 - regulation 74 to 77. Lot 1: The Department is seeking a supplier to utilise close sector links to champion and raise awareness of the role of social care nurses and nursing associates within the sector to help encourage more people into the role.<br/>The contract start date will be 1st August 2024 and will have a duration of 20 months (up to March 2026), with an option to extend once for a further 12 months. We require the successful bidder to deliver a programme of engagement activity to help drive the recruitment and retention of both nurses and nursing associates within adult social care. As the People at the Heart of Care white paper noted, the ASC workforce suffers from very high levels of staff turnover – with the turnover and vacancy rates of nurses a particular concern. We need a partner to engage with the sector and share best practice to help employers understand how they recruit additional nurses and retain them in social care.