Upper Thames Medical Group APMS Contract

Description

This notice relates to the award of a public contract for GP primary care services under the negotiated procedure without prior publication. The contract is subject to the provisions of Part 2, Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the PCR") (the Light Regime).
NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board ("the ICB") has an existing General Medical Services (GMS) contract in place for delivery of GP services at what is known as the Upper Thames Medical Group practice (covering two GP surgeries, one in Cirencester and one in Lechlade). The current partners of the provider of the GMS contract, Inspire Healthcare Partnership ("Inspire"), identified inherent financial challenges and inefficiencies of running two surgeries across two sites. The provider is in financial difficulty and ICB investment in improvement and transformation is required in order for the practice to remain viable.   That investment cannot be provided via the existing GMS contract.
Due to exceptional circumstances in relation to this contract, the ICB has taken the decision to end the existing GMS contract and award Inspire a new Alternative Provider Medical Services ("APMS") contract which provides for a financial premium, linked to KPIs to enable transformation, to Inspire for delivery of the GP services at the Upper Thames Medical Group practice. This will ensure that service continuity is maintained for patients.  
Competition is absent because the services for patients to be provided by Inspire under the APMS contract are the same as those they provided under the GMS contract and only Inspire is in a position to continue delivery of those services without disruption. The ICB is accordingly awarding the contract by negotiated procedure without prior publication, under regulation 32(2)(b) of the Public Contract Regulations 2015.