If there is one question I get asked several times a day, it is this:
“I run an off-framework agency and I want to supply the NHS and get onto the frameworks – how can I do this?”
Unfortunately, the answer to this is pretty short and sweet – you’ll have to wait until they come up for tender again in the next 2 to 4 years…..but that’s not terribly helpful, so let me at least explain how these frameworks operate. Let’s start with the status of the main current NHS frameworks.
PERMANENT & INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORKS
| Framework Name | Key Dates | Disciplines Covered | Additional Information |
|
CCS – RM 6002 Permanent Recruitment Solutions |
Contract awarded in November 2018 End date: 12.11.21* |
Permanent recruitment of non-medical non-clinical staff. Covers general recruitment, executive search and talent mapping. |
Link to approved suppliers list: https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6002/suppliers |
|
CPP – RM 6162 International Recruitment of Clinical Healthcare Professionals |
Contract awarded in March 2019 End date: 01.03.21* |
Permanent international recruitment of medical, nursing and “other” healthcare professionals. | This framework is managed by the Workforce Alliance which includes CCS, CPP and NHS Procurement in Partnership. |
|
HealthTrust Europe National & International Permanent Recruitment |
Tender currently being evaluated by HTE with a provisional award date of April 2020. | Permanent national & international recruitment of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals/health sciences staff. | This framework will replace the HTE National & International Permanent Recruitment of Healthcare Workers framework. |
TEMPORARY & FIXED TERM FRAMEWORKS
| Framework Name | Key Dates | Disciplines Covered | Additional Information |
|
CCS – RM 6160 Non Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staff |
Contract awarded July 2019 End date: 25.07.21* |
Temporary and fixed term non-clinical staff including administration & secretarial, finance & accounts, IT & technical, legal, clinical coding and operational staff (e.g. catering, driving, security, maintenance, labouring, trades etc). |
Link to approved suppliers list: |
|
LPP National Clinical & Healthcare Staffing Framework |
Tender currently being evaluated with contract award scheduled for end of April 2020, however this timescale may slip!). | Temporary and permanent medical and clinical staff including but not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, health sciences staff and care workers. | Framework managed by the Workforce Alliance which includes CCS, CPP and NHS Procurement in Partnership. It will replace the CCS Multidisciplinary Temporary Healthcare Personnel and the CPP National Clinical Staffing frameworks. |
|
HealthTrust Europe Total Workforce Solutions II |
PQQ stage of the tender completed in February 2020 with the ITT scheduled to be published in April 2020 for shortlisted bidders. | Temporary medical and clinical staff including but not limited to doctors, nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, health sciences staff and care workers and non-medical non-clinical staff at all levels. | This framework will replace the current HTE Total Workforce Solutions. |
*The contract durations for all of these frameworks is 2 years with the option to extend for a further 2 periods of 12 months – so it could be as long as 4 years before the Contracting Authorities are obliged to tender again.
Running these procurement exercises is incredibly expensive and time consuming, so whilst there are break clauses after 2 years and then annually thereafter, it is unlikely that these contracts will not run for the full duration.
To be clear – you cannot get onto these frameworks during the contract term. You can only submit a bid when a new tender opportunity is published and as the preceding table shows this is unlikely to be for some years.
So what can you do?
- Supplying the NHS off-framework. This is not easy as technically these NHS frameworks are mandated, meaning that the hospitals can only purchase from an off-framework supplier if they cannot source the staff they need from the framework agencies. If you call Trusts directly, you will almost certainly be asked if you are on one of the relevant frameworks and if the answer is no, they are unlikely to take your enquiry any further. There are, however, off-framework agencies who supply to the NHS very successfully, so this is not impossible if you build trusted relationships and are in the right place at the right time.
- Subcontracting. Some of these contracts do not allow subcontracting, others only allow it via approved Master Vendor or Vendor Neutral suppliers and there are some that do allow subcontracting via approved suppliers. To become a subcontractor, you will need to build a relationship with a relevant agency and enter into a formal agreement with them that is relevant to the Contracting Authority.
- Bidding for ad hoc projects. Some NHS organisations run their own tender process for specific projects. These tend to be high volume international permanent recruitment projects and tenders are advertised via OJEU. You can find current tenders by subscribing to a tender notification service (do a Google search for tender notification services and you’ll find loads of them!).
- Focus on the private sector. Many agencies focus on developing business within the private sector rather than trying to supply the NHS off-framework until the relevant contract comes up for tender again. This is a very effective way to build up the track record that you are likely to need when these frameworks do finally come up for tender again (it’s also usually more profitable than the public sector!).
- COVID-19 outbreak exceptions. It is already clear that in these exceptional circumstances, authorities may need to procure staff with extreme urgency. The recent PPN publication from the Cabinet Office makes it permissible to award work directly due to extreme urgency under current public procurement regulations where no reasonable alternative or substitute exists using regulation 32(2)(c). If you view the Cabinet Office PPN and read the four bullet points on pages 3 and 4 of the Cabinet Office PPN document, you’ll see the conditions under which authorities may enter into contracts without competing or advertising. This means that Trusts can technically operate outside of the frameworks where the criteria contained within the Cabinet Office publication have been met. Our advice at this stage would be to build your network of contacts within the Trusts that you can supply, and explain what you can do to help them with the immediate situation. They will need reassurance that you can:
- Supply the staff needed more quickly than the framework suppliers.
- Guarantee that the staff being supplied will meet all of the NHS Employers standards and framework compliance conditions.
- Provide continuity of service (i.e. you can meet the hospital’s needs not just now, but in the months to come).
- Provide support aligned to the requirements of the existing contract (e.g. provide management information, account management etc).
- Offer sensible and competitive pricing and avoid artificially inflated rates.
We have also been made aware that HealthTrust Europe is working with some of its Master Vendor suppliers to enable off-framework agencies to supply through them during this period if they meet pre-set criteria. We do not yet have any details on this and will publish this an update as soon as we have one.
As bid writing specialists, we do not offer business development services, so are unable to assist with finding tenders or providing introductions to NHS authorised suppliers.
If you have identified a suitable tender opportunity and need help writing the documents, then please email fiona.brunton@bruntonconsultancy.co.uk or call us on 01688 400319.
Acknowledgement for public sector procurement advice to Chris Williams MCIPS APMP.
