Official UK procurement notice
Integrated Urgent Care · UK public procurement notice
Authority: NHS SUFFOLK AND NORTH EAST ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD (NHS & healthcare)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe IUC contract in Suffolk and North East Essex is provided by Practice Plus Group (PPG). The contract expires on 31st October 2025, having been extended by two years. No further options to extend the existing contract are available.
The IUC contract includes our 111 service, Clinical Advice Service (CAS) and Out of Hours (OoH). All elements of the contract are delivered directly by PPG with the exception of the OoH service in East and West Suffolk, which is provided via a sub-contracting arrangement with the Suffolk GP Federation (SGPF).
CPV: Health services
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1The IUC contract includes our 111 service, Clinical Advice Service (CAS) and Out of…Awarded
The IUC contract includes our 111 service, Clinical Advice Service (CAS) and Out of Hours (OoH). All elements of the contract are delivered directly by PPG with the exception of the OoH service in East and West Suffolk, which is provided via a sub-contracting arrangement with the Suffolk GP Federation (SGPF).
This is a two-year contract with no option for extension. The contract will start on 1 November 2026, expiring on 31 October 2028. The annual contract value is £16,137,883 notwithstanding standard NHS uplift to be applied in the second year of the contract.
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board are awarding the contract named within this notice under the Direct Award C process which is outlined within the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The provider named in this notice is an existing provider and has been reviewed through a Key Criteria assessment to ensure the awarding body is satisfied with current performance and reasonably expects the provider to be able to satisfy the contract which is the subject of this notice. The contract which is the subject of this notice has not changed considerably when compared with the existing / previous contract delivered by the named provider.
The ICB may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included in the Specification, at any given time. Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in the Contract Notice. To this end, after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the contract may be varied as allowable in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. Additional information: This contract will not allow for any period of extension.
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
- 26 Sept 2024, 16:40 BST
- Last source update
- 25 Jun 2025, 11:45 BST
- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-035009- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-04a34bFind a Tender
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to 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. The publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period.
Representations by providers must be made to decision makers by 9th October 2024 (8 working days following publication of intention to award notice). They should be submitted in writing to procurement@snee.nhs.uk.
This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.
Awarding Committee: Suffolk and North East Essex ICB Board
No conflicts of interest, or potential conflicts of interest, were declared by any decision makes.
The decision to award this contract in line with Direct Award Process C was based on evaluation against the five required key criteria as follows:
- Quality and Innovation - Not Assured - There are some performance struggles with some of the contractual KPIs; however, providers nationally are struggling to achieve many of the metrics. An Action Plan has been put in place to cover clinical outputs and performance timeliness including but not exclusively reducing ambulance and ED dispatches more in line with national average, increasing calls dealt with by advice, improving 111 online call backs and timeliness of clinical inputs. It is anticipated that the action plan will lead to improvement in the contractual KPIs and therefore assurance levels.
- Value - Part Assured - elements of the provider's service delivers value for money. However, delivery against the core contract shows poor attainment of KPIs in the context of lower-than-commissioned activity levels. This however is against a national context of services struggling and the cost impact of procuring a new service. The action plan will lead to improvement in the contractual KPIs and therefore assurance levels.
- Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability - Assured - The provider is noted for their excellent collaborative approach within the system.
- Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice - Assured - The Equality Impact Assessment demonstrates the broadly positive impact IUC services have on ensuring equality of access for patients.
- Social Value - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering in line with the SNEE Green Plan. The provider's service offers clear and defined benefits, both in terms of environmental and social values.
Publisher note: fghfgdg
Notice history
3 releases on Find a TenderPublished amendments (2)
The original notice mentioned: II.1.4) Short description The IUC contract in Suffolk and North East Essex is provided by Practice Plus Group (PPG). The contract expires on 31st October 2025, having been extended by two years. No further options to extend the existing contract are available. The text should read: II.1.4) Short description The IUC contract in Suffolk and North East Essex is provided…
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) confirmation of contract award notice. 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 contract has now been formally awarded using direct award process C. This is a two-year contra…
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast| Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRACTICE PLUS GROUP URGENT CARE LIMITEDSME | £32,275,767 † | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Integrated Urgent Care · PRACTICE PLUS GROUP URGENT CARE LIMITEDSME
- Signed
- 30 Jul 2024
- Value
- £32,275,767
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1bids | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Dispute resolution & review bodies
Bidders & participating suppliers
1 commercial party on the notice- Practice Plus Group Urgent Care LimitedAwarded supplier
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.