Solent NHS Trust ICT services programme

Provision and management of both local and wide area networks, Storage, Computing, Desktops, laptops and other end user devices, Support of other specified applications, Helpdesk services, Fixed and mobile telephony, Printing, Existing support contracts.

UK-Southampton: network infrastructure

2012/S 205-337558

Contract notice

Services

Directive 2004/18/EC

Section I: Contracting authority

I.1)Name, addresses and contact point(s)

Solent NHS Trust
Adelaide Health Centre, William MacLeod Way, Millbrook
SO16 4XE Southampton
UNITED KINGDOM

Further information can be obtained from: Internet address: https://solentsupplies.bravosolution.co.uk

Specifications and additional documents (including documents for competitive dialogue and a dynamic purchasing system) can be obtained from: Internet address: https://solentsupplies.bravosolution.co.uk

Tenders or requests to participate must be sent to: Internet address: https://solentsupplies.bravosolution.co.uk

I.2)Type of the contracting authority

Body governed by public law

I.3)Main activity

Health

I.4)Contract award on behalf of other contracting authorities

The contracting authority is purchasing on behalf of other contracting authorities: no

Section II: Object of the contract

II.1)Description

II.1.1)Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority:

Solent NHS Trust ICT services programme.

II.1.2)Type of contract and location of works, place of delivery or of performance

Services
Service category No 7: Computer and related services
NUTS code UKJ3

II.1.3)Information about a public contract, a framework agreement or a dynamic purchasing system (DPS)

The notice involves a public contract

II.1.4)Information on framework agreement

II.1.5)Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

Solent NHS Trust was created on 1.4.2011 and specialises in providing high quality, best value community and mental health services in Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton.
The Solent NHS Trust estate currently consists of approximately 126 sites across Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, employs circa 4 300 personnel, and has over 1 500 000 patient contacts each year.
The current ICT Services infrastructure environment of Solent NHS Trust is provided by 2 separate providers as a result of an organisational merger. Following a number of service improvement initiatives which did not return the desired outcome, the Trust has decided to seek a new single external supplier for the future provision of ICT infrastructure services and support.
Notice has been served on both of the current ICT service providers, and there is the need for a swift procurement of a new supplier to ensure continuity of ICT services over the next 12 months, with the aim to have signed contracts in place no later than 31.5.2013 with the new supplier(s). The ICT services programme will aim to provide a modern ICT service that is flexible to allow for future technological innovation and capable of meeting the Trust’s demands as it moves towards and into Foundation status. At the same time, the new environment should be sufficiently robust to cope with Estate rationalisation, government funding pressures, and organisation/structural changes.
The programme will transition the ICT services and support for the following areas to the new service provider:
— Provision and management of both local and wide area networks,
— Storage,
— Computing,
— Desktops, laptops and other end user devices,
— Support of other specified applications,
— Helpdesk services,
— Fixed and mobile telephony,
— Printing,
— Existing support contracts.
The programme will identify and extend suitable technology to support the current and future objectives of the Trust and an enhanced and unified service management model.
Of the 126 sites in the Trust Estate, approximately 60+ of these will require a new WAN facility. The new service provider will have to interact with the property owners in regards of ensuing suitable WAN provision for Solent services on those sites.
The bidder will be aware of the continuing changes that are occurring both in technology, and within the NHS at large. The bidder must be able to flex its service arrangements to take into account these changes in technology and organisational structure that will occur during the life of the Programme. With this in mind, the bidder shall be required to demonstrate that they are capable of increasing the service provision to additional users by a factor of up to 5 over the life of the Programme. The expected life of the initial programme term will be 7 years with 2 mutually agreed extensions of 24 months each, available after the initial term.

II.1.6)Common procurement vocabulary (CPV)

32424000, 72267200, 72317000, 32412120, 72610000, 32412100, 32522000, 30213300, 72253100, 32428000, 30236000, 30213200, 72611000, 48517000, 64215000, 30213100, 51611000, 72590000, 32571000, 72500000, 32413000, 72253200, 72910000

II.1.7)Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The contract is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA): yes

II.1.8)Lots

This contract is divided into lots: no

II.1.9)Information about variants

Variants will be accepted: yes

II.2)Quantity or scope of the contract

II.2.1)Total quantity or scope:

Estimated value excluding VAT:
Range: between 40 000,000 and 70 000,000 GBP

II.2.2)Information about options

Options: no

II.2.3)Information about renewals

II.3)Duration of the contract or time limit for completion

Duration in months: 132 (from the award of the contract)

Section III: Legal, economic, financial and technical information

III.1)Conditions relating to the contract

III.1.1)Deposits and guarantees required:

All applicable requirements will be provided in the invitation to participate in competitive dialogue.

III.1.2)Main financing conditions and payment arrangements and/or reference to the relevant provisions governing them:

All applicable requirements will be provided in the invitation to participate in competitive dialogue.

III.1.3)Legal form to be taken by the group of economic operators to whom the contract is to be awarded:

Whilst the Trust’s requirements are to be determined during the procurement process, the Trust may require that any contract awarded shall be entered into by a single legal entity on the part of the successful candidate.
If applicable, group bidders must nominate a prime / lead bidder with whom Solent NHS Trust can contract.

III.1.4)Other particular conditions

The performance of the contract is subject to particular conditions: yes
Description of particular conditions: All applicable requirements will be provided in the invitation to participate in competitive dialogue.

III.2)Conditions for participation

III.2.1)Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: Suppliers instructions how to express interest in this tender:
1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once):
— Browse to the eSourcing portal: https://solentsupplies.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register,

— Accept the terms and conditions and click ‘continue’,
— Enter your correct business and user details,
— Note the username you chose and click ‘Save’ when complete,
— You will shortly receive an e-mail with your unique password (please keep this secure).
2. Express an interest in the tender:
— Login to the portal with the username/password,
— Click the ‘PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers’ link (these are pre-qualification questionnaires or invitations to tender open to any registered supplier),
— Click on the relevant PQQ/ ITT to access the content,
— Click the ‘Express Interest’ button at the top of the page,
— This will move the PQQ /ITT into your ‘My PQQs/ My ITTs’ page (this is a secure area reserved for your projects only),
— You can now access any attachments by clicking ‘Buyer Attachments’ in the ‘PQQ/ ITT Details’ box.
3. Responding to the tender:
— Click ‘My Response’ under ‘PQQ/ ITT Details’, you can choose to ‘Create Response’ or to ‘Decline to Respond’ (please give a reason if declining),
— You can now use the ‘Messages’ function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification,
— Note the deadline for completion, then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT,
— There may be a mixture of online & offline actions for you to perform (there is detailed online help available). You must then submit your reply using the ‘Submit Response’ button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the online help, or contact the eTendering help desk.
Candidates will be assessed in accordance with regulations 23 – 26 inclusive of The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended), on the basis of information provided in response to a pre-qualification questionnaire (‘PQQ’) available on request via Solent Supplies Team Bravo e-Portal.
Please note that Solent NHS Trust will not enter into detailed discussion of their requirements at this stage.
Any questions/queries regarding the requirements of the PQQ document should be submitted via the messaging facility on the Solent Supplies Team Bravo e-Portal by no later than 12 noon on the 4.11.2012.
Any queries received after the above deadline will not receive a response.
The deadline for return of PQQ (including the expression of interest), is set out under question IV.3.4.

III.2.2)Economic and financial ability

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met: As detailed in the PQQ document.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required: As detailed in the PQQ document.

III.2.3)Technical capacity

Information and formalities necessary for evaluating if the requirements are met:
As detailed in the PQQ document.
Minimum level(s) of standards possibly required:
As detailed in the PQQ document.

III.2.4)Information about reserved contracts

III.3)Conditions specific to services contracts

III.3.1)Information about a particular profession

Execution of the service is reserved to a particular profession: no

III.3.2)Staff responsible for the execution of the service

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)Type of procedure

IV.1.1)Type of procedure

competitive dialogue

IV.1.2)Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

Envisaged minimum number 3: and maximum number 5
Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates: The Trust intends to invite to participate in competitive dialogue a minimum of 3 candidates and a maximum of 5 candidates on the basis of the order of ranking of candidates at the PQQ stage at which the criteria referred to in Part 4 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 as amended (implementing Articles 45-52 inclusive of Directive 2004/18/EC) will be used to assess and mark submissions following which, based on the order of ranking, the Trust will exercise its sole and absolute discretion to determine the number of candidates to be invited to participate in competitive dialogue.

IV.1.3)Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated yes

IV.2)Award criteria

IV.2.1)Award criteria

The most economically advantageous tender in terms of the criteria stated in the specifications, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate or in the descriptive document

IV.2.2)Information about electronic auction

An electronic auction will be used: no

IV.3)Administrative information

IV.3.1)File reference number attributed by the contracting authority:

IV.3.2)Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

IV.3.3)Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents or descriptive document

IV.3.4)Time limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

19.11.2012 – 12:00

IV.3.5)Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

29.11.2012

IV.3.6)Language(s) in which tenders or requests to participate may be drawn up

English.

IV.3.7)Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender

IV.3.8)Conditions for opening tenders

Section VI: Complementary information

VI.1)Information about recurrence

VI.2)Information about European Union funds

The contract is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no

VI.3)Additional information

Please note that Solent Supplies Team are allowing their Bravo e-Portal to be used to conduct this procedure, the procurement is being lead by Solent NHS Trust who are wholly responsible for the content of all documentation relating to this procedure.
Solent Supplies Team are providing administrative support to conduct this procedure electronically and will collect, collate and distribute all clarification questions and submitted PQQ’s to the relevant evaluation panel members for the Trust.
Solent Supplies Team are not responsible for the content of any documentation or the evaluation of PQQ’s.
Bidders should note that if the Trust wishes to carry out services, which are a repetition of the services detailed in this notice, then those additional services may be awarded using the competitive dialogue procedure without publication of a notice in accordance with regulation 14 (1)(d)(ii) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (as amended).
Variant bids may be permissible within parameters to be determined in the invitation to participate in competitive dialogue documentation, provided that a bidder also submits a compliant reference bid.
Solent NHS Trust expressly reserves the rights:
(i) Not to award any contract as a result of the procurement process commenced by publication of this notice; and
(ii) To make whatever changes it may see fit to the content and structure of the tendering competition; and
(iii) To award one or more public contract(s) in relation to part only of the requirements covered by this notice; and
(iv) To award a contract(s) in stages; and
In no circumstances will Solent NHS Trust be liable to any bidder for any costs incurred.
Solent NHS Trust is subject to the provision of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act (2000).
Bidders should also note that completed PQQ’s constituting the bidders expression of interest and supporting documents will also only be received via the Solent Supplies Team Bravo e-Portal.
The Contracting Authority intends to use an eTendering system in this procurement exercise and reserves the right to use a reverse auction.

VI.4)Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)Body responsible for appeal procedures

please see Section VI.4.3

Body responsible for mediation procedures

please see Section VI.4.3

VI.4.2)Lodging of appeals

Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals: The Trust will incorporate a minimum 10 calendar day standstill period at the point information on the award of the contract is communicated to bidders. Bidders who are unsuccessful shall be informed by the Trust as soon as possible after the decision has been made as to the reasons why the bidder was unsuccessful. If an appeal regarding the award of the contract has not been successfully resolved, The Public Contracts Regulations 2006 (SI 2006 No. 5) (as amended) provide for aggrieved parties who have been harmed or are at risk of harm by breach of the rules to take action in the High Court (England, Wales, and Northern Ireland). Any such action must generally be brought within three months. If a declaration of ineffectiveness is sought, any such action must be brought within 30 days where the Trust has communicated the award of the contract and a summary of reasons to renderers, or otherwise within 6 months of the contract being entered into. Where a contract has not been entered into, the Court may order the setting aside of the award decision or order the Trust to amend any document and may award damages. If the contract has been entered into the Court may, depending on the circumstances, award damages, make a declaration of ineffectiveness, order the Trust to pay a fine, and/or order that the duration of the contract be shortened. The purpose of the standstill period referred to above is to allow the parties to apply to the Courts to set aside the award decision before the contract is entered into.

VI.4.3)Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

Solent NHS Trust
Adelaide Health Centre, William Macleod Way, Millbrook
SO16 4XE Southampton
UNITED KINGDOM

VI.5)Date of dispatch of this notice:18.10.2012

Solent NHS Trust ICT services programme