Regulator Medical Support Services Framework

Descriptions

Short description of nature and scope of works. The purpose of this Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to alert potential suppliers to an opportunity to provide the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) with medical examiner, toxicology and expert witness services for our fitness to practise and registration processes. As the regulator for nurses, midwifes and nursing associates, we investigate concerns raised about the fitness to practise of those on, or applying to be on, our register. This includes concerns relating to their physical or mental health. In order to explore these issues we may require them to: — undergo drug and/or alcohol testing to indicate misuse/abstinence, — meet with an appropriately qualified medical examiner who can provide a diagnosis (if appropriate) and view of whether this affects their ability to practise safely. As part of our wider investigations in to allegations concerning the fitness to practise of individuals we may also require expert witnesses to review clinical evidence and provide us with an expert report and opinion. The overall requirement will be to arrange services that will provide the NMC with the required reports in line with agreed timeframes and arrange attendance of contracted professionals to hearings if required. It is currently envisaged that the procurement will be divided in to three lots; the provision of medical examiners; the provision of drug and alcohol testing and the provision of expert witnesses. The NMC reserve the right to limit the total number of lots that any one bidder may win to two. Breakdown of lots – description for each. Lot 1: Provision of medical examiner services The provider will be the point of contact between the NMC case teams and medical examiners. The provider will need to have a pool of medical examiners available to conduct examinations, provide independent reports and attend NMC hearings to give evidence. The pool of examiners will need to contain a range of expertise in psychiatry, occupational health, substance misuse and general medicine. When requested, the provider will need to source the appropriate medical examiner, within the contract price and provide them with the necessary medical records, which the provider will need to source (consent would have already been obtained). The provider is responsible for the quality of the reports, as well as feeding back any issues with reports or performance concerns and is responsible for the timeliness of reports provided to the NMC. The provider will be responsible for handling data in line with GDPR and in strict adherence to agreed timeframes. Lot 2: Provision of toxicology services (drug and alcohol testing) On request of the NMC, the provider will be responsible for arranging appointments with individuals on our register for samples to be taken for drug and/or alcohol testing. The provider will be responsible for testing the samples and providing a comprehensive report to the NMC which explains the results, within agreed timeframes. The provider must be able to carry out more than one method of sample testing, and be able to test for a variety of substances. The samples and testing must be carried out in a manner that complies with chain of custody and with ISO standards ISO/IEC 17025:2017 Lot 3: Provision of expert witness services The provider will be the expert witness’ point of contact, and will liaise with the NMC case teams for all arrangements of hearing attendance. The provider will need to have a pool of, or be able to source, expert witnesses to conduct reviews of evidence, provide independent reports and attend NMC hearings to give evidence. The experts will need to contain a range of expertise in nursing and midwifery. The provider will be responsible for the quality of the report and making sure it is provided within the agreed timescales and contracted prices.