Provision of an Urgent Access Primary Care Service (Out of Hours, Single Point of Access and Outbreak Management) in Herefordshire and Worcestershire

A Contract Award Notice
by NHS HEREFORDSHIRE AND WORCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD

Source
Find a Tender
Type
Contract (Services)
Duration
6 year (est.)
Value
£58M
Sector
HEALTH
Published
22 Dec 2025
Delivery
To 05 Jan 2032 (est.)
Deadline
n/a

Related Terms

Location

Worcester

Geochart for 2 buyers and 2 suppliers

Description

This Intention to Award Notice is issued in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The Procurement relates to the Invitation to Tender for the provision of an Urgent Access Primary Care Service (Out of Hours, Single Point of Access and Outbreak Management) in the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, UK.

Lot Division

1 Herefordshire

This Intention to Award Notice is issued in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The Procurement relates to the Invitation to Tender for the provision of an Urgent Access Primary Care Service (Single Point of Access, Out of Hours, and Outbreak Management). The procurement was split into two lots. Lot 1 is service provision for the county of Herefordshire, UK. This notice is an intention to award a contract under the competitive process. The contract will be for a period of 3 (three) years with the option to extend for a further 2 (two) year period, plus 1 (one) further year, subject to mutual agreement. (The total lifetime of the contract is therefore 6 (six) years.) NHS Standard Contract Terms and Conditions will apply. The anticipated contract commencement date is 08th July 2026. The approximate lifetime value of the contract for Lot 1 (Herefordshire) including the available extension periods is £15,225,917.94. Contracts for existing GP-Led Out of Hours services in the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire are due to expire on 7th July 2026, therefore, the ICB has been seeking to procure a new Urgent Access Primary Care Service (to include an Out of Hours service, a contribution of clinical staff for the provision of primary care advice in the two existing Single Points of Access (SPoAs), and an Outbreak Management service) for the local resident patient population. The proposed Urgent Access Primary Care Service (SPoA, Out of Hours, and Outbreak Management) will contribute towards the following outcomes for the local resident patient population: • Improved access for patients to urgent and emergency care advice, assessments and interventions • Positive patient-reported experience, resulting from timely and informative care • Improved patient-reported ease of navigation to the most appropriate service • Effective urgent care responses that prevent unnecessary acute hospital admissions and maximise independent living, including end-of-life care at home • Effective urgent care responses that contribute to the reduction of health inequalities that people are experiencing. These services are classed as Health Care services under The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (PSR). The ICB has adopted a Competitive Process in accordance with Regulations 6(7) and 11 of the PSR Regulations. Under the PSR Regulations, the ICB was required to assess bids based on basic Selection Criteria, Five Key Criteria (as defined in Regulation 5 of the PSR), and any other elements relevant to contract award. The ICB applied the Crown Commercial Services Selection Questionnaire for the basic Selection Criteria.

Award Criteria
A. Quality & Innovation 25.0
B. Value (inclusive of Finance Model Template and Correlation with Service Model, and Financial Resilience Rating) 35.0
C. Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability 20.0
D. Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities, and Facilitating Choice 10.0
E. Social Value 10.0
Finance Model Template and Correlation with Service Model 32.5
Finanical Resilience Score 2.5
2 Worcestershire

This Intention to Award Notice is issued in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The Procurement relates to the Invitation to Tender for the provision of an Urgent Access Primary Care Service (Single Point of Access, Out of Hours, and Outbreak Management). The procurement was split into two lots. Lot 2 is service provision for the county of Worcestershire, UK. This notice is an intention to award a contract under the competitive process. The contract will be for a period of 3 (three) years with the option to extend for a further 2 (two) year period, plus 1 (one) further year, subject to mutual agreement. (The total lifetime of the contract is therefore 6 (six) years.) NHS Standard Contract Terms and Conditions will apply. The anticipated contract commencement date is 08th July 2026. The approximate lifetime value of the contract for Lot 2 (Worcestershire) including the available extension periods is £42,805,938.00. Contracts for existing GP-Led Out of Hours services in the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire are due to expire on 7th July 2026, therefore, the ICB has been seeking to procure a new Urgent Access Primary Care Service (to include an Out of Hours service, a contribution of clinical staff for the provision of primary care advice in the two existing Single Points of Access (SPoAs), and an Outbreak Management service) for the local resident patient population . The proposed Urgent Access Primary Care Service (SPoA, Out of Hours, and Outbreak Management) will contribute towards the following outcomes for the local resident patient population: • Improved access for patients to urgent and emergency care advice, assessments and interventions • Positive patient-reported experience, resulting from timely and informative care • Improved patient-reported ease of navigation to the most appropriate service • Effective urgent care responses that prevent unnecessary acute hospital admissions and maximise independent living, including end-of-life care at home • Effective urgent care responses that contribute to the reduction of health inequalities that people are experiencing. These services are classed as Health Care services under The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (PSR). The ICB has adopted a Competitive Process in accordance with Regulations 6(7) and 11 of the PSR Regulations. Under the PSR Regulations, the ICB was required to assess bids based on basic Selection Criteria, Five Key Criteria (as defined in Regulation 5 of the PSR), and any other elements relevant to contract award. The ICB applied the Crown Commercial Services Selection Questionnaire for the basic Selection Criteria.

Award Criteria
A. Quality and Innovation 25.0
B. Value (inclusive of Finance Model Template and Correlation with Service Model, and Financial Resilience Rating) 35.0
C. Integration, collaboration and service sustainability 20.0
D. Improving access, reducing health inequalities, and facilitating choice - Scoring Questions 10.0
E. Social Value 10.0
Finance Model Template and Correlation with Service Modeldel Template and Correlation with Service Model, and Financial Resilience Rating) 32.5
Financial Resilience Rating 2.5

Award Detail

1 Taurus Healthcare (Hereford)
  • Herefordshire
  • Num offers: 5
  • Value: £15,225,918
  • Contractor is an SME.
2 Practice Plus Group Urgent Care (Reading)
  • Worcestershire
  • Num offers: 5
  • Value: £42,805,938

CPV Codes

  • 85100000 - Health services

Indicators

Other Information

This Intention to Award Notice is issued in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The Procurement relates to the Invitation to Tender for the provision of an Urgent Access Primary Care Service (Single Point of Access, Out of Hours, and Outbreak Management). The decisions to award the above contracts were ratified by the Board Meeting of the NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board at its formal meeting on Wednesday 19th November 2025. The decision was based on the relative importance of the PSR 5 Key Criteria applied in the evaluation of bids, as detailed in the Award Criteria at Section 2.5 above. Conflicts of Interest were identified during the governance process and the ICB Board Members with actual or potential conflicts of interest were excluded from the meeting and therefore did not have any involvement in any decision-making processes. This Competitive Process (Regulations 6 and 11) is a procurement process under The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (the Regulations). The Commissioner has applied best procurement practice throughout the process. This process requires a standstill period as per Regulation 12 of the Regulations. Accordingly, a standstill period applies from the day after publication of this Find a Tender Service Intention to Award notice, starting on Tuesday 23rd December 2025 and concluding on midnight on Monday 12th January 2026 (to allow for the Christmas holiday period). Until this time, the ICB will not be concluding any contracts. Subject to the ICB receiving no representation during the standstill period, the ICB aims to conclude the proposed contracts with the successful bidders on or after midnight on 13th January 2026. To contact the contracting authority regarding a representation during the standstill period, please contact NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB, at hwicb.corpgov@nhs.net.

Reference

  • FTS 085512-2025

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