NHS Volunteer Responder Platform

NHS England & NHS Improvement (NHSEI) aims to commission a national NHS Volunteer Responders platform and supporting technical infrastructure for the recruitment, management and deployment (immediate and scheduled) of NHS Volunteer Responders via a mobile app. We are ideally looking for an ‘off the shelf’ package that can easily be modified to meet the service needs.

NHSEI supported a response to the Covid pandemic emergency to support the rapid development and provision of the service. As we move beyond the emergency response, we are seeking to put in place a provider to support the longer-term service provision and development of this service as it evolves into a post-Covid, business as usual model.

This is an exciting opportunity to support an innovative service that enabled micro-volunteering to flourish on a national scale during the pandemic and that will leave a legacy by providing ongoing micro-volunteering opportunities as an additional volunteer deployment option for local services. This offer provides a robustly commissioned service which will provide security to both NHS Volunteer Responders and those requiring the support from the service. The longer-term contract will allow time for further development and improvement of services to ensure better alignment to NHS priorities.

This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is to advise prospective providers of the Commissioner’s intention. It is our intention to hold a market engagement event on the morning of 16th March 2022 to discuss our intended service delivery model and consult with providers interested in potentially bidding for this tender in a short 1:1 session on the 17th March 2022. Please note there will be a maximum of 2 attendees per supplier

The event will take the form of an online presentation and individual discussions organised through MS Teams. It will outline our current thinking, the anticipated procurement process, general discussion, and requests for information. NHSEI will use the opportunity to gather intelligence from providers who may influence and inform the development of the final tender. Please complete the brief online questionnaire by Monday 14th March 12 noon, Invites will be sent to provided emails that afternoon

The commissioner reserves the right not to proceed with the Procurement, or any part thereof, or change the requirements as necessary at any time. It is the intention of the Authority that the procurement will be conducted as an Open Procedure under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The ITT is expected to be published in March/April 2022. A separate advert will be released advising of this.