II.2.3) Place of performance

NUTS code:

UKC

II.2.4) Description of the procurement

NHS North East North Cumbria Integrated Care Board is managing this market engagement exercise for the provision of a Mental Health Secure Patient Transport Service across the North East and North Cumbria Region.

The ICB is issuing this Prior Information Notice (PIN) as a Request for Information (RFI) to engage with the market and to gather information in order to gain a better understanding of both the capacity and appetite of the market in delivering the proposed services.

Any future opportunity is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award.

It is important to note that this PIN/RFI is not a call for competition and as such you will need to express your interest in any future opportunity once the contract notice is published on Find a Tender Service.

North East and North Cumbria ICB will also be holding a market engagement event on Wednesday 18th March 2026 to further explore the current market landscape and work collaboratively with providers as we shape our approach to this service.

Please confirm via the Atamis Portal if you wish to attend by providing the name(s) and email address(es) of those attending. Attendees should have sufficient subject-matter knowledge to share insight on the market and contribute meaningfully to the discussion.

Please note: due to room capacity, attendance is limited to a maximum of two people per organisation.

It should also be noted that this PIN/RFI invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this RFI exercise only, and it is NOT a pre-qualification questionnaire, and 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 in the RFI exercise.

NENC ICB is utilising an electronic tendering tool to manage this RFI exercise and communicate with potential providers. Accordingly, there will be no hard copy documents issued to potential providers and all communications with NENC ICB, including RFI submissions, will be conducted via Atamis: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome

If you have already registered on the system (e.g. to access contracts with another Health Family organisation) then there is no need to re-register.

If you have not already done so you should now register as a Supplier on the shared system.

You can register here: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome

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. If you find that you need any advice or support in registering, please contact the Atamis helpdesk using the following details:

Phone: 0800 9956035

E-mail: support-health@atamis.co.uk

Opening times 8am - 6pm

The RFI documentation will be accessible from Monday 02 March 2026 and completed RFI responses must be returned by 12:00 on Friday 13 March 2026.