Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service for Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Descriptions

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Groups.Non-Emergency Patient Transport Services tender.Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Groups are tendering for a single provider of Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service (PTS) for the registered general practice population of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire to and from agreed treatment centres within Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. The approximate number of PTS journeys over the last financial year was c. 110 000 in Oxfordshire and 30 000 in Buckinghamshire.The specific elements that the CCGs seek to tender in a single solution are as follows:1. Patient transport booking service (Telephony and web based appointment booking) for health professionals and patients including:a. Transport booking in advance of the required date (up to and including 24 hours in advance of the day)b. On the day/short notice transport booking to support the needs of the local health economy including but not restricted to discharges from a hospital setting.c. Defined timeslots for picking up patients requiring transportation to or from treatment.d. An internet based appointment booking system to enable approximately 80 % of bookings by health professionals to be made electronically.e. Screening of patients for whom transport is requested in accordance with Eligibility criteria set by the CCGs applied to bookings made both via telephone and electronically.f. A Freephone or local rate telephone number (subject to negotiation with commissioners) for patients to contact the service via a single route into the telephony service.The telephony transport booking service is required to operate between 7:00-22:00 7-days a week.2. Routine patient transportation for Outpatient and Day-patient appointments by single or multi-occupancy vehicles, including by wheelchair, electric wheelchair and by stretcher. Such appointments will predominantly be booked in advance, including but not limited to:a. Oncology (chemotherapy and radiotherapy)b. Renal treatment (including dialysis and transplantation)c. Deep Vein Thrombosis clinicsd. Musculoskeletal clinicse. Neurological clinics.Transportation for eligible patients is required for Outpatient and Day patient appointments seven days a week 6:00 to 22:00.3. Urgent care pathway patient transportation, by single or multi-occupancy vehicles, including wheelchair, electric wheelchair and by stretcher. Bookings will be made in advance and on the day for, but not limited to:a. Discharges to home from rapid assessment settings (e.g. A&E)b. Discharges to home from bedded care settings (acute and community)c. Inter-hospital transfers (within Oxfordshire)d. Dedicated transport to and from the Oxfordshire Emergency Multidisciplinary Unitse. Transport to and from the Multi-disciplinary Day Assessment Service at Wycombe HospitalTransportation will be required for eligible patients between the hours of 6:00 to 2:00. The service may be required to provide transport on a more limited basis between 2:00 to 6:00 although this will be discussed with bidders at the Invitation to Tender stage. Booking of transportation for the urgent care pathway will be required predominantly on the day.4. Complex patient transportation for Outpatient, Day-patient and urgent care pathways, including but not limited to:a. Bariatric patient careb. With continuous oxygen therapyc. By stretcher or wheelchair with complex needsd. By hoist/sling (e.g. Southampton sling)e. Management during transportation by clinically qualified staff.The service will be expected to provide a range of vehicles suitable to meet the needs of patients described above.Transportation will be required for eligible patients between the hours of 6:00 to 2:00. The service may be required to provide transport on a more limited basis between 2:00 to 6:00 although this will be discussed with bidders at the Invitation to Tender stage.5. Out of county transportation/patient repatriationTransport will be required for out of county patients (those that are not registered with a GP practice within the Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group footprints) being repatriated to their local district general hospital or home address. This transport is usually required at short notice and the provider will arrange movement on the same day as beds in the receiving hospital become available.Securing the funding for these journeys will be the responsibility of the provider, as they are not commissioned by Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire CCGs (as the patient is not registered with an Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire GP and therefore the responsibility of another Clinical Commissioning Group) and therefore the provider will have to agree funding with the patient's relevant Clinical Commissioning Group in advance of travel.Transport will be required for eligible patients registered with a GP practice within the Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Group footprints being treated in a healthcare facility outside of the OCCG boundary that require repatriation to an Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire bedded care facility or their home address. These journeys will be funded by the Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire CCGs.Transportation for this patient group will be on an ad hoc basis and therefore unpredictable.Additional information— Bidders will be assessed at Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire stage against their capability to provide the 5 core service elements described above.— The provider will ensure that all staff employed in the service with direct patient contact (including by telephone) have been subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.— The provider will ensure all staff maintain professional registration (where required) and undertake regular training and evaluation as required.— Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire CCGs and their providers participate in a comprehensive system resilience and escalation framework to ensure the safe and effective delivery of health care services at times of increased demand or reduced capacity. The provider of Patient Transport services will participate in escalation and resilience measures across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire as necessary including regular attendance at relevant meetings or teleconferences.— The availability of transport will be sufficient to manage predictable and unpredictable surges in demand. The provider will profile demand and corresponding transport capacity for each day to take account of seasonal fluctuations and in particular the increased demand for NHS services during Winter months, where the provider will be required to provide additional vehicles in comparison to other parts of the year.— For all services, the provider will produce data relating to service provision on a regular or ad hoc basis as required by Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire Clinical Commissioning Groups.— TUPE/COSOP is expected to apply to this service – further details will be provided at the ITT stage.— Tenders will be assessed using the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) criteria, with overall weightings for Quality and Cost. Quality is expected to be weighted at 70 % and Cost 30 % though these have not yet been finalised. These elements are also likely to have weighted sub-criteria. Full details of the scoring system and weightings will be provided in the ITT documentation.Commissioning intentionsAs part of their commitment to improve health services in partnership with other health and social care organisations, the CCGs are currently exploring the potential to commission the following additional services as part of this contract. Bidders will not be assessed against their capability to provide the following services at Pre-Qualifying Questionnaire stage, but may be required to demonstrate the ability to deliver such services in addition to the core services, with commensurate funding provided, at the formal tender stage. If all services were to be commissioned, the total contract value would increase by approximately 4 000 000 GBP. The additional services being considered are as follows:— Urgent requests from GPs for transport to a hospital setting,— Urgent requests from GPs for transport of a patient to / from the patient's registered GP practice to avoid unnecessary A&E attendance/admission,— Transportation to community based urgent care services, e.g. Minor Injury Units,— Transportation for routine and complex mental health patients, including forensic and sedated patients requiring secure transportation,— Diagnostics and specimen (non-patient transport) collection, including:i) Specimens requiring collection from GP practicesii) Inter-hospital transfer of specimensiii) Drug delivery.Expressions of InterestThe procurement will be conducted via the: www.nhssourcing.co.uk e-tendering website. If you are interested in tendering for this opportunity, please access the website and register your organisation.Once organisations have registered on the above website they will be given access to the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire and related documents. Please note that if you are intending to take part in this process as a consortium you must register on the e-tendering website as that consortium and only complete one PQQ.All applicants will be asked to complete and return the PQQ (via the website) by 12:00 (midday) on Tuesday 6.8.2013, at the latest.Following assessment of the PQQs, short-listed applicants will be given access (via the website) to the full ITT documentation and invited to tender for the service.Should you require any assistance in accessing or registering on the e-tendering website please contact the Bravo eTendering Helpdesk – Phone: 0800 3684850 and/or email: help@bravosolution.co.uk).