Nursing Tenders: Instantly Find the Most Suitable Contracts for You!

Here’s how you can INSTANTLY find the perfect nursing tenders for your business…

Finding nursing tenders can seem tricky. In a sense, it is, if you are searching manually. However, there are tools available that make the process a lot faster and simpler. This can save you precious hours that you could spend being more productive.

In this blog, we will share with you the easiest way to find nursing tenders! Keep reading to learn more…

Finding nursing tenders

Most people, when searching for nursing tenders, will simply type those words into Google. Afterall, most of us are used to counting on search engines for results. When you search ‘nursing tenders’, you’ll be met with countless results. There will be thousands of sites alone that feature possible opportunities. The issue is scouring through them all to find a contract suitable for your business.

Most of these websites will not feature a system of making it easy to find out details. You may be looking for a contract specifically in Yorkshire, for example. You may have to spend hours reading tender documents trying to find out where each contract is based. This process can quickly become tedious. You could be spending this time more effectively. Running a business is hard enough without having to stress over finding nursing tenders.

This is where the Hudson Discover portals come in…

Discover the Healthcare Tenders portal – Instantly find nursing tenders

Finding nursing tenders is incredibly easy with Hudson Discover. Healthcare Tenders is one of our 11 sector-specific tender tracking portals. These portals streamline the process of finding relevant contracts for healthcare services. For example, when searching for nursing tenders, you can use the keyword, ‘nursing services’. You can then see all the relevant results on our portal. We have further filters so that you can view tenders based on location and budget. You can easily see the deadline date too, so you’ll know straight away if you have time to bid.

These portals are updated daily by Opportunity Trackers that manually search for tenders. They don’t use CPV codes. This means there is no risk of missing opportunities that may have been given the wrong code. They also send tender notifications each day, so users are updated with any new opportunities!

Discover Elite

If you want to streamline the process even further, you can sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. With this service, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Previous nursing tenders on our portal

Below are just a few examples of past nursing tenders that have been featured on our portal:

Children’s Public Health Nursing Service Market Engagement

EU Supply Limited – Yorkshire – Budget: £49,000,000

Expression of Interest – Nursing EMI Beds

St. Helens Council – North West – Budget: Undisclosed

Provision of Nursing Home and Domiciliary Services for Children and Adults for North West London Clinical Commissioning Group

North West London Clinical Commissioning Group – London – Budget: Undisclosed

National Foundation Education Programme in Critical Care Nursing

Health Service Executive (HSE) – Republic of Ireland – Budget: £1,500,000

Supply of Theatre Nursing Staff Teams

NHS Lanarkshire – Scotland – Budget: Undisclosed

Summary

Here’s a recap of our nursing tenders blog so you don’t forget any key details!

Finding nursing tenders

To streamline the process of finding nursing tenders, you can use the Healthcare Tenders portal. It is designed to make it easy to find the opportunities relevant to your business and requirements.

Discover the Healthcare Tenders portal – Instantly find nursing tenders

The Healthcare Tenders portal is an excellent way of finding tenders perfect for your business. It allows users to navigate tenders with keywords and filters. This way, users can locate specific tenders, rather than scouring through hundreds that aren’t right.

If you still have questions about nursing tenders, contact us! We are always happy to help.

Need help writing your next tender?

The tendering process can be difficult to wrap your head around, and if you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next tenders.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Contact us for more information regarding our bid management consultancy services.

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity even when you’re busy!

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portalsof your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable leads and tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

Contact us for more information.

Tendering for Social Care Contracts: Advice from the Experts

Here’s 5 tips from expert Bid Writers for tendering for social care contracts

Want to know more about tendering for social care contracts? Maybe you want to learn how to find them and how to win! Luckily, we are here to help.

Tendering for social care contracts: Where to look for opportunities

If you’re aiming to start tendering for social care contracts, then you’ll need to find some opportunities. You could use a search engine such as Google. This will bring up countless sites for you to explore. The only issue is that these sites will all differ in how they present the tender information. You may have to read through entire tender documents to find certain crucial information. In turn, the process can take ages, and you may not even be eligible for these opportunities.

Thankfully, we have a solution! Hudson Discover is our opportunity tracking division. We have 11 sector-specific portals to help businesses find the perfect opportunity. We streamline the process of finding tenders by having hundreds of tenders in one place. Our portals list tenders based on subsector, keyword, location, price, and deadline. This means you can easily see key details about the tender, without having to read hefty documents.

Our Opportunity Trackers manually upload tenders to our portals daily. So, you save hours of your time searching! We don’t use CPV codes either, so tenders are listed correctly.

Discover Elite

If you want to streamline the process even further, you can sign up to Discover Elite via your chosen portal. With this service, a dedicated Account Manager will find live bids on your behalf. They’ll speak with you weekly to discuss opportunities that may interest you. This is especially helpful for those with little time to spare due to busy schedules.

Previous social care contracts

Curious about what tenders we feature on our portal? Here are a few that have previously been available via our Healthcare Tenders portal:

Community Support Service – Yorkshire – £50k

The buyer is looking for the provision and delivery of a community peer support service.

Social Awareness Campaign – Yorkshire – £210k

The successful supplier will work alongside multiple agencies in providing learning materials to remove stigmas around nursing services.

Abuse Support – South East – £635k

The buyer is looking for support services and referral strategies for victims of domestic violence and abuse.

Housing Services – East Midlands – Budget: Undisclosed

The buyer is seeking the delivery of housing that adheres to all of the buyer’s needs.

Carer Support – Wales – Budget: Undisclosed

The contracting authority is seeking the provision of interventions and support for parents and their children, from infancy to adolescence.

How to win when tendering for social care contracts

New to tendering for social care contracts? Perhaps you aren’t seeing the success you had hoped for. Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, have expert Bid Writers that can help!

If you don’t have the time to dedicate to writing a bid proposal, you can turn to their experts. They’ll handle the entire process for you. Check out their services page to find out more.

Do you prefer to write your bids yourself but need some guidance? Here’s some tips from our experts to boost your chances of success:

  1. Make sure your proposal is clear and concise.
  2. Don’t use technical jargon as this can confuse the buyer.
  3. Make sure you proofread the bid before submission. Leaving errors can give the impression you are unprofessional!
  4. Use bid management skills to stay organised. It will make the process easier and less stressful.
  5. Check your eligibility before you begin!

Summary

Now you should have a good idea of how to find and win opportunities when tendering for social care contracts. Let’s recap everything we covered.

To find social care contracts, you can use our Healthcare Tenders portal. The Hudson Discover Division has 11 sector-specific portals to help businesses find contracts. You can upgrade to Discover Elite to streamline the process further. We assign an Account Manager to find contracts on your behalf.

Here are tips from our experts on how to write winning social care bid proposals:

  1. Make sure your proposal is clear and concise.
  2. Don’t use technical jargon as this can confuse the buyer.
  3. Make sure you proofread the bid before submission.
  4. Use bid management skills to stay organised.
  5. Check your eligibility before you begin!

Need help writing your next tender?

If you don’t have the resources or time to write a winning bid, why not outsource it? Our sister company, Hudson Succeed, boasts an 87% success rate and have over 60 years of collective bidding experience. They offer four bid writing support packages to help you on the path to success. Whether you’re new to tendering, or simply need someone to proof your written response before you submit – we can help.

Tender Ready

Our Tender Ready programme is designed for those who have never tendered before. This 4-week programme works with you to ensure you have everything in place to tender successfully.

Tender Improvement

Tender Improvement can help if you’re already tendering but aren’t seeing success from your current efforts. Our Bid Writers will assess your previous submissions and supporting documents. They’ll give you feedback and guidance on how to improve, helping you to secure your next tenders.

Tender Mentor

If you’ve written a tender and need someone to proofread it – Tender Mentor is for you. A Bid Writer will double-check it’s in line with the specification and free of any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Tender Writing

If you’ve found the perfect tender but don’t know where to start – we can help. Send the specification over to us and our Bid Team will do the rest. They’ll let you know what they need from you and provide you with a full breakdown. They’ll even submit it on your behalf, leaving you more time to focus on your business.

Get in touch to find out more information about our bid management consultancy services.

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite will ensure you never miss a tendering opportunity even when you’re busy!

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portals of your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid decision
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable leads and tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management including registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

Contact us for more information.

Do You Know the Difference Between Public and Private Contracts for Healthcare Services?

Are you looking for public or private sector contracts for healthcare services? That is the first question you need to answer.

Securing contracts for healthcare services can be tricky to navigate if you don’t know where to begin.

Ask yourself, what can you and your business offer? And do you meet the criteria the contract is asking for?

Answering these initial questions is the starting point when looking at contracts for healthcare services. In this blog, we will look at how to secure these contracts and explore the differences between the sectors.

What healthcare services can you tender for?

Healthcare Tenders are published by a variety of buyers both in the public and private sector. Ultimately, these organisations are seeking to procure healthcare services, goods or support for their constituents or service users.

Buyers procure healthcare services including:

However, there are a lot more services that buyers can procure. For example, women can seek IVF care and maternity care. Then there’s children’s healthcare to consider. Meaning tendering for contracts for healthcare services can vary in specialisms. This means that there is a broad range of contracts available. It’s important to establish what you’re looking for to make the tracking process more efficient.

What do you need to have in place to be able to tender for healthcare services?

Due to the nature of the healthcare industry, there will be limitations regarding securing some contracts. If you are intending to go for healthcare contracts, it is important you know what requirements the buyer has stipulated.

We recommend healthcare companies to be CQC (Care Quality Commission) registered before tendering for work. This shows to the buyer that you are legitimate, and will deliver a professional, high-quality service. In some instances, there will also be, Pre-Qualification Questionnaires (PQQ). PQQ’s are used by buyers to determine the suitability of suppliers tendering for their contracts. You will be required to complete the questionnaire alongside submitting evidence to validate your business. Buyers could also use a Selection Questionnaire (SQ). These are more liberal when it comes to the questions. No evidence is required, but you need to ‘self-certify’ why you are suitable.

The 5 main differences between private and public sector healthcare contracts:

Contracts for healthcare services can be procured in both the public and private sector.

  • With public contracts, buyers publish through the government, or public sector bodies, including the NHS. This means companies bid for the contracts, following the framework set out by the government.
  • A private contract for healthcare services is published directly by the buyers. They are open to all, and the guidelines can differ from each new contract.
  • Private contracts, tend to focus more on the budget above all, looking at who can deliver their services cost-effectively. Whereas public contracts will often focus on your quality responses also and whether you meet their requirements.
  • In the public sector, you’re guaranteed to be paid as per the Prompt Payment Code. The private sector is not bound by these regulations.
  • The public sector now places a 10% weighting on social value. This score evaluates how you’re helping to improve the local community, the environment and aid Covid recovery.

To summarise

Before diving into contracts for healthcare services, ensure you are ready with all the necessary requirements that will be considered. Think about what the buyer is asking and what it is that you can do better than others.

Ensure you have the correct accreditations to fit the contract. Are you CQC registered, or at least in the process of becoming so? Do you need to answer a PQQ or SQ? Planning ahead will enable you to prepare, giving you a better chance of winning healthcare contracts.

Healthcare Tenders

If your business would benefit from bidding on healthcare contracts, then our Healthcare Tender Portal is here to help.

Unlike other portals, we don’t use CPV codes. We have our Opportunity Trackers who physically scour portals every day. If they find new healthcare contracts, they then upload it to Healthcare Tenders. With your subscription, you could view all these opportunities from hundreds of portals, in one place.

What’s more, we will assign you a dedicated Account Manager to manage your subscription. They will be on hand to answer your tendering or portal-related queries. You will also receive a daily email bulletin straight to your inbox. This will contain contracts for healthcare services found that day.

Schedule a free live demo of Healthcare Tenders to see how the portal can help your business.

Below are previous healthcare tenders sourced on our portal:

Children and Young People Speech Therapy Services
Cheshire west and Chester Borough Council – North West – £1.9 Million

Domiciliary Care Package
Durham County Council – North East – Budget: Undisclosed

Early Years Assessment Provisions
Gloucestershire County Council – South West – Budget: Undisclosed

Residential Placements for Young Males
The Isle of Man Government – North West – Budget: Undisclosed

Acute Hospital Setting
London Borough of Hounslow – London – Budget: Undisclosed

We source healthcare business leads for sub-sectors including:

Want to save even more time?

Upgrading to Discover Elite can help you find more healthcare contracts – even when you’re busy! Our two upgraded packages are particularly useful if your business runs across two sectors such as Healthcare and Technology. A dedicated Account Manager will carefully consider which healthcare service contracts are most suitable for your business. This will help improve your bid success rate and improve your competitor awareness.

The Ultimate Time-Saving Tool offers your business:

  • An annual subscription to a maximum of two Discover portals of your choice.
  • Up to five bid breakdowns per month to help you make your bid or no-bid decisions.
  • Weekly phone calls with your Account Manager to discuss viable tendering opportunities.
  • Award and pre-market engagement notices monitored on your behalf.
  • Public and private buyer portal management. This includes registering, password management, downloading documents and assessing viability based on your bid strategy.

The Become a Pre-Bid Master package offers your business:

  • All the above.
  • Up to seven tender breakdowns per month.
  • The development of a bid strategy delivered by a Senior Bid Manager with a minimum of five years of experience. It will also be managed by our Global Bid Director.

For further information, contact us today.

Need help with a bid proposal?

Hudson Succeed is our sister company of expert bid writers who can handle the whole tendering process for you. So, if you have found a healthcare contract you would like to bid for, Hudson Succeed can help. Their tender support packages are designed to help your business succeed. Find out how our Bid Writers can support you on your tendering journey.

Contact us for more information regarding our bid management consultancy services.

Understanding (and Winning) Your Place on a Social Care Framework

Understanding a Social Care Framework

A social care framework is usually a large contract in the care sector, open to more than one supplier. They’re often split into smaller, more manageable categories called lots – another term for services. For example, Leicestershire County Council is undertaking a procurement process to identify and appoint a number of service providers. This social care framework will provide a range of disabled children’s services, and is split into the following 2 lots:

  • Lot 1: Short Breaks (Play and Leisure).
  • Lot 2: Domiciliary Care.

To secure your place on a social care framework, such as this one, you need to undergo a tendering process. Tendering can often feel like a barrier to new service providers, but it doesn’t have to be complex or difficult. We think information on tendering should be accessible for everyone! So, here’s a guide to understanding and securing social care frameworks, using advice from our tendering experts.

What does the future of social care frameworks look like?

The number of available social care frameworks is currently rising as the public sector utilises frameworks more and more. Covid-19 has also disproportionately affected disabled, elderly and vulnerable people, who are dependent on social care.  The knock-on effects of the pandemic are also increasing the strain on mental health services across the country. All of this adds to the need for a larger, more unified approach to social care.

Matt Hancock, the Secretary of Health and Social Care, recently emphasised plans to join up health and social care. He also noted the need for a systems approach in care, and praised systems that are already in place, saying:

I have seen so many examples this year of systems working together for the benefit of patients, because that is what system working is all about…I have seen healthcare teams working side by side with charities and community groups to offer clinics for hard-to-reach patients.  

It seems overarching systems and social care frameworks are more important than ever, as we head into 2021.

What are the benefits of social care frameworks?

For new service providers and small businesses, tendering for frameworks can be more beneficial than tendering for single-supplier contracts.

While the benefits of social care frameworks vary, here’s a brief overview that highlights the common benefits for service providers:

Ongoing work

Upon securing a framework, suppliers can be guaranteed work for multiple years. For instance, in the previous example of Leicestershire County Council, this framework lasts for at least 1 year. The contract can then be extended for a further 3 years, taking the contract term up to 4 years.

Multiple lots

Within a social care framework, a range of verified suppliers can suit all requirements: from regional SME specialists, to national providers. The option for multiple different services means there are more open opportunities, and thus more chances of securing a place.

There is also the option to tender for multiple different lots at once, which can further increase your chance of success. For example, let’s look at the current framework for Technology Enabled Care Services. This social care framework provides a compliant route to access various health and social care technologies.

It has four lots:

  • Lot 1 – Electronic Assistive Technologies
  • Lot 2 – Alarm Technologies and Services
  • Lot 3 – Continuous Monitoring Services
  • Lot 4 -Schedule Remote and On Demand Services

This framework is serviced by seventeen suppliers in total. Four of these suppliers work within multiple lots. Our free Tender VLE masterclass on frameworks touches on tendering for multiple lots in more depth.

Large contracts

Large contracts offer very valuable experience for smaller business and can bolster your chances of winning future work. Framework experience helps prove you are a reliable and credible service provider.

Further benefits…

Social care frameworks benefit buyers, too, of course. The NHS Shared Business Services states its social care framework agreements are designed to:

  • Ensure competitive pricing
  • Help drive savings
  • And improve efficiencies.

There is also the freedom to re-award contracts to approved providers on social care frameworks. This is a benefit for both buyers and suppliers. If a supplier is on an approved provider list, this essentially means they have a ‘seal of approval.’ The buyer can award them work repeatedly, without the need to re-advertise or reapply the selection and award criteria. This method of procurement is proven to deliver better value year on year.

Service users also benefit from social care frameworks in the following ways:

  • Personalisation of care. Social care frameworks promote the personalisation of care. Approved provider lists help achieve this by allowing people to draw upon a range of ‘approved’ services.
  • Flexible contract terms. Access to a number of contracts enables users to find tailored care for their individual needs.

How do I win work on social care frameworks?

At Hudson, we help businesses secure public and private sector contracts. We’ve been doing so, and seeing success, for almost two decades. Our Healthcare Tenders portal was created due to popular demand, as we were supporting many healthcare companies through Hudson Succeed. We wanted to give these companies a sector-specific platform for sourcing tenders with better results and accurate tracking methods. Since creating the portal, we’ve since been able to assist hundreds of care organisations. We’ve secured work on frameworks for recently established businesses and helped larger organisations grow their business in the care sector.

So, what do our bid writing consultants, at Hudson Succeed, advise when it comes to social care frameworks? Here’s their top three recommendations for NHS tenders:

  1. Seek relevant experience

If you’ve never tendered before, you should seek experience that is relevant to the social care framework.

Our consultants recommend contacting your local authorities and asking about any ongoing social care frameworks in your sector. Ask if they need any subcontractor SMEs for additional assistance. This can gain you contractual experience, which is essential when tendering, in the majority of cases. You need experience to back up your tender responses in order to be considered by a Procurement Manager.

  1. Secure relevant accreditations

The tender may require you to have certain accreditations with evidence. Find out which accreditations will increase your eligibility for social care frameworks before applying. 60% of public sector tenders we have worked with require suppliers to have an ISO 9001 prior to contract commencement. And whilst it may not be a requirement for all tenders, it won’t ever hurt your chances.

The ISO 9001:2015 standard is particularly useful for social care frameworks. It ensures high quality service, which is the core principle of social care. Now, more than ever, suppliers need to meet ever-changing regulations and bid against competitors. The ISO 9001:2015 offers an independently assessed quality standard which applies to all social care providers across the UK.

It gives an advantage when seeking social care frameworks, as it ensures compliance with all legal, regulatory and local policy requirements. This includes all of the following:

  • The Department of Health (DOH)
  • The Care Quality Commission (CQC)
  • The Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW)
  • The Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW)
  • Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)
  • The Healthcare Environment Inspectorate Scotland (HEIS)
  • The Regulatory and Quality Improvement Authority Northern Ireland (RQIA)
  • The Medicines and Healthcare Regulation Authority (MHRA)
  • National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
  • The NHS Legal Authority (NHSLA)
  1. Create a strong tender

Creating a strong tender is absolutely essential to winning work on social care frameworks. Read our consultants expert advice on composing strong health and social care tenders for more insight into the process.

If you lack the writing skills or corporate literature to write a detailed and compliant tender, don’t worry. You can seek tender writing support from experts or outsource your tender writing if needed.

We offer four packages of bid writing assistance:

Each one is tailored to different needs, whether you simply require advice on previous tenders, or want to outsource a tender completely.

Our team of health and social care tender writers at Hudson Succeed hold an 87% bid success rate. They are trusted by over 700 businesses, globally, so you can rest assured that your bid is in safe hands. Once we have written your bid, we’ll go ahead and submit it for you, too. Tendering has never been easier!

Looking for further support?

We can support through the NHS tendering process and help you bid for social care frameworks. From the beginning of your tender, right through to securing your lot.

We can find social care frameworks that are right for you. Our Healthcare Tenders portal is dedicated specifically to the healthcare and social care industries. Our team of Opportunity Trackers manually search thousands of sources, daily, to find tenders that are relevant to the portal. (Importantly, these trackers are real people – not inaccurate CPV codes!) These tenders are then uploaded to one central system where they are categorised with industry-led keywords.

When you sign up, we’ll send you a daily bulletin with newly uploaded opportunities that are relevant to your business.

Book a free live demo to tour the Healthcare Tenders portal. Browse the tenders and see how the system can help your business secure work on social care frameworks.

Below are previous Social Care Framework agreements sourced on our portal:

Framework for Standard Home Care Services

Derby City Council- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

Framework Agreement in Relation to Home Care Services – Tender for Lot A Lead Provider (Tier) 1 Cluster Area 3 and 4

Southampton City Council- South East- Budget: £12,480,000

Framework Agreement for the Provision of Low, Mid and High-Tech Homecare Services

NHS London Procurement Partnership- London- Budget: Undisclosed

Framework Agreement in Relation to Home Care Services – Second Anniversary Re-Opening

Southampton City Council- South East- Budget: £120,218,632

Short Breaks Pseudo DPS/Framework

East Riding of Yorkshire- Yorkshire and Humber- Budget: Undisclosed

We source healthcare business leads for sub-sectors including:

Social Care Framework Agreements

How to Become a Supplier on Social Care Framework Agreements 

Social Care Framework Agreements are in continuous demand throughout the UK and further afield. The public sector, including the NHS and Local Authorities are in need of high-quality social care services within their areas.

The range of social care framework agreements are vast. Hudson Discover now operates a new Healthcare Tenders portal that brings all of these opportunities together, in one place! Hudson understand the priorities of our clients who provide Social Care services. They must prioritise their time in order to best care for their patients. Leaving less time for them to find and consider opportunities to advance and enhance their businesses.

Our portals are updated with opportunities daily by our procurement team, ensuring that suitable social care framework agreement opportunities are readily available for your business to review and make quick, easy bid/no bid decisions. This is made possible by the fact that all the tender documentation is just a click away, saving the hassle of navigating through a seemingly never-ending series of links and pages.

To become a supplier on a social care framework agreement, you need to understand the NHS tendering process. Typically, social care framework agreements will follow the typical procurement process: first an initial selection questionnaire (SQ) or pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) and then an ITT for those passing the first section. As part of the open procedure, the SQ procedure can be eliminated altogether, instead jumping straight into the ITT. Social care tenders tend to evaluate you on your ability to:

  • Deliver a quality, consistent service;
  • Demonstrate a person-centred approach;
  • Showcase a comprehensive understanding of incident management and safeguarding;
  • Evidence previous examples of delivering Social Care. 

This list is non-exhaustive – indeed, buyers may ask you about any element of your service.

Opportunities are available through a variety of contracts. In general, there is more demand for public sector opportunities, than private. The public sector is accountable for spending public money, so the procurement process must be transparent and regulated. 

Types of Social Care Framework Agreements

The UK currently spends over £140bn a year on the public provision of Health and over £20bn on Social Care. The healthcare sector in the UK could not run efficiently without private sector suppliers. As a result, our Healthcare Tenders portal sees a constant stream of Healthcare contract opportunities, concerning a variety of disciplines, including Social Care frameworks crop up all across the UK. 

An estimated 1 in 3 NHS clinical services tenders are won by private sector contractors. The NHS is always looking for innovative new partners and they regularly award contracts worth many thousands of pounds to the successful bidders. Types of social care framework agreements readily available via the public procurement process include:

Supported Living 

Supported living is a blend of accommodation provision and bespoke support. It gives those living in the accommodation individual tenancies, to maximise their independence. Supported Living tenders are extremely varied, from budget, to scope, to types of service user; so, you can be sure that there is one that is right for your business. There are Supported Living tenders for many different demographics, which may specify and/or comprise one or more of the following groups:

  • Young people with learning disabilities;
  • Adults with learning disabilities;
  • Care leavers aged 16+;
  • Young asylum seekers aged 16+;
  • Homeless young people;
  • Young offenders.

Supported Living premises are often grouped into the following categories:

  • Floating/flexible support (those who require less or varied levels of support);
  • Standard;
  • Complex needs (those who display risk-taking/harmful behaviours of some sort).

The varied nature of the service users who may be housed in supported living premises means that providers should have experience in caring for specific needs. Differing levels of risk/support also influence the accommodation requirements and tender specifications. It is worth browsing all available tenders and their pertaining documents, because there’s bound to be one that dovetails perfectly with your service offering and your staff’s areas of expertise.

Mental Health 

Mental Health forms an ever growing part of the Social Care industry within the UK. This has resulted in the appearance of more Mental Health Tenders being released into the public domain. As the discussion on mental health within the UK has grown within recent years, more tendering opportunities have become available via the public procurement process. This is due to the fact that more people are attempting to access community mental health services.

The NHS and leading mental health charities predict that this trajectory will rocket in the fall out of the COVID-19 pandemic. As many suffer through economic and social hardships, the likes of Mind and Mental Health UK expect the need for mental health services to rise dramatically. Our in-house opportunity trackers are already beginning to see an increase in mental health tenders appear on our Healthcare Tenders portal.

Domiciliary Care

As the lifespan of the average UK resident continues to grow, as does the need for domiciliary care. Over recent years the issuing of domiciliary care tenders has risen drastically. The personal care of the elderly and the disadvantaged and vulnerable is consistently and continuously being outsourced to private organisations. Providing opportunities to care providers of all statures – from small start-ups to large agencies.

Securing a place on Social Care Framework Agreements

Increasingly in the sector, works are being contracted in the form of a greater number of smaller contracts, typically handled by local authorities. Hence, this provides small, even start-up health and social support providers with a golden opportunity to secure a place on social care framework agreements of all varieties. Based on our experience’s, we have found the main influences on success in tendering for social care opportunities are:

  • Past Experience 

As is a common theme in the process of tendering for work, your evidence is key. Contracting authorities want to see solid evidence of your experience and competency. It is especially important to show this regarding the challenges you might face on the contract for which you are bidding. Without firm evidence, including numbers, dates, figures and details of specific challenges, you may struggle. Indeed, building up a bank of case studies to draw on, is a key first step toward winning healthcare tenders.

  • Accreditation & Qualification 

To be awarded a place on Social Care frameworks, or to be in with a realistic chance thereof, you have to be able to display appropriate accreditations and qualifications. Otherwise, you will fall at the first hurdle. Tendering authorities need to know that you’re a safe bet. They need to know that you and your team are a safe, competent and respectful pair of hands. Displaying some basic, internationally recognised qualifications quality accreditations and information security standards for your organisation will help. Accreditations such as ISO 9001 and ISO 27001, as well as appropriate NVQs (usually level 3 or above), can typically help you make the first cut in evaluation procedures and help you to reform your business with national best practice.

  • Quality Responses 

Quality is almost always the most pressing aspect of any Social Care tender. Pricing, although important, is typically of secondary consideration to most tendering authorities within this sector. We at Hudson Succeed, recently submitted a bid on behalf of a healthcare provider, which was judged on 100% quality. Meaning price was not even considered! Tendering authorities are more interested in getting a good quality service that meets the needs of service users fully, rather than a cheap service.

Providing additional evidence as part of your submission, will back up your quality responses. For example, providing policies and/or risk assessments, among other items, will inspire further confidence in your organisations ability to provide a safe, quality service.

  • Corporate Social Responsibility 

Social value is becoming more and more prevalent in all tenders, across all business sectors. Buyers want to see you demonstrate how you will bring value to their communities. Typically, this value can be brought through commitments to environmental, social and economic initiatives. 

Authorities tendering Social Care services don’t just want to see your organisation’s commitment to your service users. They also want to see your commitment to the wider picture.

Nowadays, it is very likely that you will encounter at least one question about social value or community benefits.

A strong social value response can be the difference between a strong care tender and a weak one. 

How can we help? 

If you don’t see success first time around when bidding a place on Social Care framework agreements, don’t be disheartened.

Due to the sensitive and challenging nature of this type of work, Social Care framework agreements are often accompanied by strict evaluation criteria. A failure may well not be a reflection on your company, but simply the case that a contracting authority has found someone with more specific or niche experience.

Let Healthcare Tenders help you – we will make sure you stay ahead of the game; notifying you of all current social care framework agreements out to tender. 

Below are previous social care framework agreements sourced on our portal:

Children’s Residential Care Framework

Hampshire County Council- South East- Budget: Undisclosed

Framework for the Provision of Short Break Services for Disabled Children/Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disability

Darlington Borough Council- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

Flexible Framework Agreement for Education and Social Support Services (Children and Families)

Dundee City Council- Scotland- Budget: Undisclosed

Provider Engagement Event for the Framework Agreement for the Provision of Day Opportunities for Working Age Adults and Older People

Darlington Borough Council- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

WCC – Warwickshire Care at Home Services Lot 1 Spot Purchase – 2

Coventry – Solihull – Warwickshire- West Midlands- Budget: £450,000

We source healthcare business leads for sub-sectors including:

Your subscription to Healthcare Tenders includes:

  • Unlimited access to the portal containing all active Healthcare contracts, which you can filter according to budget size, location and keywords (including such terms like, social care, supported living and mental health tenders). 
  • A daily bulletin sent straight to your inbox, containing all the new contract notices our Opportunity Trackers have found that day;
  • A dedicated Account Manager who will deal with all queries relating to Healthcare Tenders or to tendering in general;
  • A free 20-minute phone consultation with our bid writing experts from Hudson Succeed – who can answer specific questions and provide advice and guidance related to your tendering journey.

Want to receive all the social care frameworks published daily direct to your inbox?

Get in touch with Hudson Discover today for a free trial / free demo. 

Let us help you to help others. 

Now is the time for Healthcare Tenders.