Patient & Non-Patient Messaging Services

Tender description

The issue of missed appointments in the NHS is well documented. It has been estimated that, overall, missed GP and hospital appointments cost the NHS in England nearly £1bn a year. Many trusts and other healthcare organisations use reminder services of one kind or another and there is evidence that such services have a material effect on the volume of missed appointments and the utilisation of cancelled appointments. The aim of this project is to procure a multi-Lot, multi-supplier framework agreement to enable the provision of messaging services to support appointment reminders, Friends and Family tests and other similar requirements, using a range of communications technologies that meet the accompanying specifications and any locally-defined requirements. In addition, the framework suppliers will be required to  ensure continuity of supply, both in terms of volume and content;  provide the means to support the clients in delivering and managing the service in an efficient and cost-effective manner; and  to protect clients against price increases. SCOPE OF THE REQUIREMENT The framework agreement will be awarded in five Lots, to a number of commercial suppliers with the capability and experience to offer clients the services described above and within the remainder of the invitation to tender documents. Lot 1 Messaging services to mobile telephones, e.g., Short Message Services (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS); Lot 2 Messaging services to computers, e.g., Electronic Mail (eMail) services; Lot 3 Automated voice messages to a landline of mobile telephone, e.g., Interactive Voice Response (IVR); Lot 4 Agent Calls; and Lot 5 A multi-service Lot encompassing a combination of any of the above Lots and potentially, additional linked services, to provide an end-to-end communications service.