Adoption and Fostering Medical Advisory Service

Notice summary

This is a Transparency - Intention to Award Notice - to inform market of the Relevant Authority's intention to Award a Contract under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, Most Suitable Provider Process. The value of the contract is expected to be £20,000. 1.A statement that the relevant authority is intending to award a contract following Most Suitable Provider Process. 2.The name and address of the registered office or principal place of business of the provider(s) to whom an award is to be made: Orr Medical, 48 Cross Keys Drive, Whittle le Woods, Chorley, PR6 7T 3.A description of the relevant health care services to which the contract relates, including the most relevant CPV code: Children Services- Hull City Council 85100000 - Services Provided by Medical Personnel. 4.The approximate lifetime value of the contract: £20,000 5.Details of the award decision-makers: Governance - Hull City Council - Children's Services Directorate. 6.A statement explaining the award decision-makers' reasons for selecting the chosen provider, with reference to the key criteria: Considered by Children's Services and guidance obtained to use PSR Regulations: The Service Review was undertaken contributing to our decision making as well as colleagues in procurement and legal. The Review was then cross-referenced with the Key Evaluation Criteria to assess their proposal. The weighting for each of the criteria was as follows: 1. Quality and Innovation - Pass/Fail 2. Value - Pass/Fail 3. Integration, collaboration and service sustainability - Pass/Fail 4. Improving access, reducing health inequalities, and facilitating choice - Pass/Fail 5. Social value - Pass/Fail As further assurance that the provider would be able to satisfy the new contract to a sufficient standard, Quality Assurance questions based on the updated service specification were issued covering the key criteria, the statements are below: 1. Quality and Innovation - The Service Provider is experienced in safeguarding, child development and the health needs of children looked after, with the medical advisors being General Medical Council (GMC) registered medical practitioners and shall strengthen interagency working across health, education and social care sectors to improve outcomes for children looked after and support Hull's sufficiency strategy by ensuring medical assessments do not become a barrier to timely carer approval or matching The current service quality and capacity have experienced issues around the timeliness of assessments, quality of GP reports and insufficient resilience for sickness/absence. The proposed model addresses the concerns and allows time to embed a robust monitoring and quality assurance process int a longer term arrangement. 2. Value - The Service Provider shall adhere to the budget set. They shall deliver in line with a range of pricing options to allow for the more urgent medical assessments and reports to be delivered in a timely manner and allow the less urgent ones to take longer which will provide management of the workload. The Service Provider shall work with the Local Authority to ensure efficiency and achieve effectiveness. 3. Integration, collaboration and service sustainability - The service provider shall work closely with named and designated looked after children professionals, GPs, local authority children's services, One Adoption and NHS England to provide clear, balanced and child‑centred advice that enables effective decision‑making by social workers, managers, and adoption/fostering panels. The service will strengthen interagency working across health, education and social care sectors to improve outcomes for children looked after. 4. Improving access, reducing health inequalities, and facilitating choice - The service provider shall deliver: • timely completion of high quality medical advisor reports • compliance with court deadlines in adoption and fostering cases • improved confidence in decision making through consistent, specialist clinical input • reduced risk of delay or challenge within statutory processes The interim service arrangement is explicitly designed to protect these outcomes during a period of organisational change, ensuring that children, carers, and courts experience no interruption in access to medical advice. Performance expectations, turnaround times, and quality standards will be monitored to ensure outcomes are delivered consistently and inform the specification of the longer term commissioned model. 5. Social value - the service delivers social value by: • protecting vulnerable children from delay and disruption • supporting timely, lawful decision making • strengthening system resilience and professional confidence • promoting equitable access to specialist medical advice • contributing to sustainable, integrated public services 8.Any declared conflicts or potential conflicts of interest. None declared

Opportunity overview

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intended 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 do not apply to this award. In accordance with Regulation 10 of The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, Hull City Council is looking to award a contract under the Most Suitable Provider process as the Council is able to identify the most suitable provider without running a competitive exercise, for the provision of Adoption and Fostering Medical Advisory Service. The contract is anticipated to commence 1st July 2026 ending by 31st October 2026. The Authority has estimated the value of the services to be £20,000. Representations by providers must be made to decision makers (please email [email protected]) by midnight on 23rd June 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the Provider Selection Regime. Please note: there shall be a longer term contract opportunity for this service that shall be advertised in the near future.

Contract and delivery

The Aims of the service are to provide specialist medical advice to support the safe, effective and lawful assessment of prospective foster carers, adopters and special guardians. The service aims to: - Evaluate medical information about prospective adopters, foster carers and special guardianship applicants and give a view to the adoption and fostering assessment services about applicants' health needs that will inform the decision about their suitability as adopters or foster carers. - Ensure that all medical assessments for prospective carers are reviewed with appropriate clinical expertise. - Provide clear, balanced and child‑centred advice that enables effective decision‑making by social workers, managers, and adoption/fostering panels, working closely with named and designated looked after children professionals, GPs, local authority children's services, One Adoption and NHS England. - Support the matching process by assessing the compatibility of prospective carers' health with the needs of individual children, including those with disabilities, trauma histories or complex chronic health conditions. - Develop and maintain high standards of medical reporting through GP training, professional feedback and quality assurance processes. - Provide early consultation where medical issues may impact suitability or require specialist medical interpretation. - Strengthen interagency working across health, education and social care sectors to improve outcomes for children looked after. - Support Hull's sufficiency strategy by ensuring medical assessments do not become a barrier to timely carer approval or matching.

Contracting authority

Kingston Upon Hull City Council The Guildhall, Alfred Gelder Street,, Hull, HU11AA, UKE11, United Kingdom Contact: Lucy Pattinson Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.hullcc.gov.uk

Procedure

Procedure: Restricted procedure Method: selective Legal basis: 32014L0024

How to respond

Submissions and documents are handled via: https://yortender.eu-supply.com/

CPV Classification

85141000 — Services provided by medical personnel

Submission portal

https://yortender.eu-supply.com/

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