Specialist Medicines Service

Location

Ipswich

Description

The service aims to support the responsive and effective supply of essential medication for Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) and the treatment of Clostridioides difficile (also known as Clostridium difficile, C. difficile or C. diff). This is a type of bacteria that can cause diarrhoea. The demand for palliative care treatments and the relevant antibiotics, vancomycin or fidaxomicin, may be urgent and/or unpredictable. The service will operate during all normal opening hours for the community pharmacy and/or any locally commissioned extended hours e.g., Public/Bank holiday rota. The pharmacy contractor(s) (provider) will stock minimum stock levels of a locally agreed list of drugs and will make a commitment to ensure those users of this service have prompt access to these medicines. The pharmacy will provide information and advice to the user, carer and clinician as required. Pharmacy teams should refer to the joint Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)/Marie Curie UK Quality Improvement (Daffodil) Standards for support in continual improvement of their palliative and end of life care arrangements. They may also refer to the specialist palliative care advice lines at the local hospices within SNEE. The pharmacy will maintain stocks of the specified list of medicines required to deliver this service and will dispense these in response to NHS prescriptions presented. The stock levels may be requested where there have been reports of failure to hold minimum stocks. The pharmacy will be expected to hold the minimum stock level unless there is evidence of drugs being dispensed and awaiting stock replenishment. The pharmacy will be expected to report stock levels on a quarterly basis and will receive remuneration for each report submitted. Providers should seek to maintain adequate stocks of medication in line with local demand and in anticipation of reduced wholesaler deliveries, e.g., weekends, bank holiday periods. The aim of this service is to ensure the availability of medication used for palliative and end of life care and the treatment of c.difficile across Suffolk and North East Essex, the demand for which may be urgent and/or unpredictable. The service is designed to improve access to these medicines for patients, carers and healthcare professionals when they are required, in order to ensure that there is no delay to treatment whilst also providing choice. This service aims to ensure the provision of medication for Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) and the treatment of c.difficile at all times whilst the pharmacy is open, from selected commissioned pharmacies within Suffolk and North East Essex. The service will operate during all normal opening hours for the community pharmacy and/or any locally commissioned extended hours e.g., Public/Bank holiday rota. The pharmacy contractor (provider) will stock minimum stock levels of a locally agreed list of drugs and will make a commitment to ensure those users of this service have prompt access to these medicines. SNEE Integrated Care Board (ICB) may review the medication list and amend in accordance with advice and guidance which the provider must order, if not stocked, with immediate effect. Providers will be formally notified in writing by the ICB. If items are to be removed from the list, the ICB will continue to honour the date expiry compensation for that product whilst the contract is in place. The ICB will not be liable to provide funding for expired stock if ordered above the agreed minimum quantities. 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.

Lot Division

Award Detail

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85100000 - Health services

Indicators

• Award on basis of price.

Legal 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 the relevant authority by midnight Friday 14th November 2025. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.

Other Information

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 midnight on Friday 14th November 2025, (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. Award decision-makers: SNEE ICS Community Pharmacy Commissioning Clinical Lead on 31st October 2025. 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 - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering a safe and effective service as required by the specification and contract they are currently delivering. • Value - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering value to the integrated care system and the cost of change would not be outweighed by the potential benefit of a new provider. • Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is positively impacting on the integrated care system through their integration and collaboration delivered as a requirement of the specification or alternative elements linked to the delivery. • Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is meeting needs of the population to ensure equitable access and choice as required by the specification and contract. • Social Value - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering in line with the SNEE Green Plan, supporting with the implementation of carbon reduction and increase in initiatives which positively impact on the wider determinants of health.