Contract award notice
Results of the procurement procedure
Section I: Contracting
entity
I.1) Name and addresses
NHS DEVON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD
QJK
Aperture House, Pynes Hill, Rydon Lane,
Exeter
EX25AZ
UK
E-mail: d-icb.contractin@nhs.net
NUTS: UKK41
Internet address(es)
Main address: https://onedevon.org.uk/
I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Health
Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title
Plymouth Home-Based Intermediate Care
Reference number: QJK_MSP_P1 Plymouth_Jun 26
II.1.2) Main CPV code
85323000
II.1.3) Type of contract
Services
II.1.4) Short description
NHS Devon sought to procure a managed Pathway 1 home-based intermediate care support service for Plymouth - to fully manage provision to support circa 60-80 individuals at any one time on our Intermediate Care pathway in the community following a period of acute/medical intervention.
II.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots:
No
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement
Value excluding VAT:
4 500 000.00
GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS code:
UKK41
Main site or place of performance:
The provider is required to support individuals across Plymouth City Council footprint returning to their own homes city wide.
As such the specific location for individual appointments will often only be know on the day.
The ICB sought providers who have demonstrable existing operational presence within Plymouth and integration with local health and care service. This will include having a CQC registered office in Plymouth.
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
This notice is an intention to award a contract under the most suitable provider process.
NHS Devon has a requirement for a fully CQC compliant service, with a minimum rating of good, to fully manage provision to support circa 60-80 individuals at any one time on our Intermediate Care pathway in the community following a period of acute/medical intervention. This service will be on a block basis through a set number of hours of delivery and reimbursed at a fixed hourly rate to encompass all costs. Due to operational demand, this service provision will need to remain flexible in response to system needs and may therefore need to be increased against the 60-80 baseline.
The service is designed to support people following:
• Acute hospital stay (step down)
• A bedded Intermediate Care pathway (step-down)
• Deterioration in the community to prevent hospital admission (step up)
Intermediate Care Pathway 1 personal care, rehab and reablement, will be short-term, time-restricted, supporting a goal-based period of care that calls on a mixture of health and social care assessments and interventions to support people to maximise their potential to live as independently as possible by recovering or continuing to improve skills because of those interventions.
The service will operate on a 7-day basis (including bank holidays) between the core operating hours of 7am and 11pm and accepting referrals during this time. The service operates 24/7 'on call' and 'out of hours' cover.
This service will include but is not limited to: people living with frailty, mild cognitive impairment, dementia or delirium, palliative and end of life care needs, mental health conditions, learning disabilities, autism, obesity (including bariatric patients), younger adults, and people living in an unsafe environment, experiencing homelessness, or at risk of homelessness.
Further information was included in the PIN previously published for this procurement.
The exact pricing arrangements are subject to contract negotiation but the approximate maximum lifetime value including extension is £4.5m
Although elements of this service are existing, as a fully managed service it is a new requirement.
The intended supplier holds other contracts but is new to provision of these arrangements.
The Contract length will be an initial 18 months with an extension option of up to 12 months. Target start date is 01/10/2026 but this may be subject to ammendment.
II.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion: most suitable provider process with regard to the key criteria
/ Weighting: 100
Price
/ Weighting:
pass/ fail
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:
Yes
Description of options:
Extension option of up to 12 months is included
II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds:
No
Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition
Justification for selected award procedure:
The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the Directive
Explanation
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 Procurement Act Regulations 2023 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 21/08/2026 (8 working days following publication of intention to award notice). This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR
IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement:
No
Section V: Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded:
Yes
V.2 Award of contract
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
07/08/2026
V.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 4
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators:
No
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Nurseplus and Carer Plus UK Limited
05512996
Ashford
UK
NUTS: UKJ
The contractor is an SME:
No
V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Total value of the contract/lot:
: 4 500 000.00
GBP
V.2.5) Information about subcontracting
Section VI: Complementary information
VI.3) Additional 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 Procurement Act Regulations 2023 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 on 21/08/2026 (8 working days following publication of intention to award notice). This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.
The address for submission of formal representations regarding the conduct of this procurement is d-icb.contracting@nhs.net
The evaluation was undertaken by a cross-functional team and award decision ratified via the ICB's Procurement Oversight Group.
No Conflicts of Interest were identified in relation to this procurement.
The evaluation of providers was completed against the 5 key criteria required by the Provider Selection Regime. Particular weighting was given integration with other Plymouth-based services and quality of delivery as factors likely to best support rapid, effective mobilisation of the working and seamless integration of quality services for patients. Value was pass/ fail based on costings of existing delivery in Plymouth.
Overall Weightings were:
Quality: 30%
Integration: 45%
Value: Pass/ fail
Access/ managing inequalities: 10%
Social Value: 15%
VI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
NHS Devon ICB
Exeter
UK
E-mail: d-icb.contracting@nhs.net
VI.4.3) Review procedure
Precise information on deadline(s) for review procedures:
This notice marks the start of an 8 working day standstill prior to confirmation of contract award which will end at midnight on 21/08/2026.
If wishing to submit representations to the ICB in relation to the execution of this procurement please ensure that the representation meets the criteria set out in the Provider Selection Regime Statutory Guidance set out below.
Representations should be titled as such and include the procurement reference and be emailed to d-icb.contracting@nhs.net.
Relevant authorities are only obliged, to respond to representations that meet ALL- the following conditions:
- The representation is received within the first 8 working days following the start of the standstill period
- the representation comes from a provider that might otherwise have been a provider of the services to which the contract relates
- the provider is aggrieved by the decision of the relevant authority
- the provider believes that the relevant authority has failed to apply the regime correctly and sets out reasonable grounds to support its belief
- the representation is submitted in writing (which includes electronically) to the relevant authority within eight working days of the start of the standstill period.
For any more informal queries regarding this procurement please submit them to the same email address but title it Query rather than Representation.
VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice
11/08/2026