Upper Eden APMS

North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is working for and on behalf of NHS England (North East and North Cumbria) (The Contract Authority) who are conducting a Request for Information (RFI) exercise in order to gain a better understanding of the capacity and appetite of the market to deliver an Alternative Medical Provider Service (APMS) within Upper Eden.

It is important to note that this PIN/RFI is not a call for competition and as such potential providers will need to express an interest in any future tender opportunity once a contract notice is published on Find and Tender Service and on Contracts Finder.

It should be noted that this PIN/RFI invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this RFI exercise only, and it is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process.

This PIN/RFI is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise.

An expression of interest is no indication of a commitment to participate in the RFI process nor does it infer any preferential or special status on those individuals and organisations who express an interest.

The commissioner wishes to invite all interested providers to complete a RFI, which will include information regarding the service and the medical practice and an overview of the procurement process and associated documentation, including information to support submission of bids.

It will also give interested provider the opportunity to give outline their thoughts on the service and the procurement process.

NECS is utilising an electronic tendering portal (In-Tend) to manage this market engagement event and RFI and as such interested individuals and organisations will need to register on the portal to access and complete the RFI questionnaire All communications in relation to this event will be conducted via the In-tend portal https://in-tendhost.co.uk/nhsnecsu It is free to register on the portal and it can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection.

Should providers have any queries, or are having problems registering on the portal; they should contact the In-tend helpdesk via: support@in-tend.com or call us on 0845 557 8079 / +44 (0) 114 407 0065 The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 9am - 5.30pm Completed RFI questionnaires must be submitted by 12:00 noon on 8th February 2023.

Following review of returned RFI responses, should the commissioner wish to seek further clarification to any part of the responses, further market engagement may be carried out.

Providers will be made aware of these arrangements via the In-Tend system.