We are seeking tenders to carry out this work.

Download a copy of the tender specification (PDF)

View the press release

 
Important Dates

• Deadline for submissions: Friday 24 February 2012
• Shortlisted bidders will informed by: Tuesday 6 March 2012
  (This is will done via email and followed up by telephone)
• Bid presentations: 11am-4pm, Wednesday 21 March 2012
  Location: Room DR2, 7th Floor, Bupa House, 15-19 Bloomsbury Way, WC1A 2BA

 
Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be assessed based on the following criteria:-

• Understanding of requirement
• Proposed deliverables
• Evidence of originality, innovation and versatility
• Methodology
• Knowledge, skills and experience to do the work
• Resources and people proposed to carry out the work
• Cost
• Timescales

 
Correspondence and Queries

Any queries should be directed via email to the project coordinator, Dr Wai Keong Wong (w.wong@bcs.org).

In the interest of transparency, all questions and subsequent responses that arise and are relevant to the tender process will be published here within two working days.

 
Questions and Answers

Q: Section 8 (of the tender specification) states that funds have been allocated to support the project in the range of 30 - 50 person days. Could I ask if this is inclusive or exclusive of any expenses that may be incurred for travel etc. and possible expenses of those with whom the chosen consultancy firm / body may incur?

A: The allocated funds are INCLUSIVE of all expenses incurred as part of this work. No additional funding will be provided. However, the BCS will cover room costs and travel expenses for steering group meetings. We anticipate that there will be 3-4 of these throughout the course of the project.
 
 
Q: Can you give us a little more background in terms of how BCS decided that this guidance was necessary? Did other research feed into this? 

A: We felt that this work is timely because of :- 1) The overall transparency agenda of this government 2) A call for more patient-centred care and recognising that control of information is central to this. 3) The recent NHS Future Forum recommendations to the Secretary of State for Health. 4) BCS own work on Preparing for Information being Mission-Critical in the NHS

 
Q: Also you talk about sharing arrangements with data mining organisations. Are you suggesting here that data mining organisations would approach individuals directly to get hold of anonymised data rather than the service provider?

A: This would definitely fall within the remit of the guidance.
 
 
Q: Or would the guidance simply explain how the service provider might share their personal data with data mining organisations?

A: This is would not be the main aim of the guidance but the awareness this possibility would be useful to patients.
 
 
Q: When patients access their patient records online they are mostly accessing data held by service providers / centrally held records. Are there current examples of patients being in sole possession of their records?

A: Any electronic personal health record (PHR) service would fulfil the criteria that patients are in sole possession of their records. We would expect the guidance to cover this. An example would be the now discontinued Google Health service.

 
Q. It is mentioned in tender specifications that this project is for 30-50 working days. Is it possible to know [the] budgeted amount for this project? 

A. Thank you for your interest in this project. We are currently not in a position to disclose the budgeted amount as we are keen to assess the range of responses we get. We invite you to indicate your proposed budget in your tender proposal.

 
Q. As part of my bid, I can outline methodology for delivery of project. As part of project delivery, I will need to provide Project Initiation Document (PID) (as per PRINCE2 methodology) and I will need more information / documents from Project Board regarding scope at micro level for PID. So, what documents / information will winning bidder receive for this project?

A. There are no plans to provide any more documents or information that is not already in the public domain. The scope of the project is outlined in the tender document and it is up to the winning bidder to inform us of the scope at micro level for the PID. The project steering committee may provide guidance and open up networks as required by the winning bidder. This project is the first of it's kind in England and we are interested to review the different approaches to achieve its aim that will be presented to us as part of this tendering process.
 
 
Q. Can you give any indication of the intended 'shelf-life' of the guidance, as the potential for sectoral convergence within the duration of this project (health & social care  for instance) may have to result in an accommodation of different ways of working than are currently the norm in the health-specific domain.

A. Thank you for your question. For this guidance, we are looking for the winning bidder to identify the principles that underpin safe electronic record keeping and then present these principles in a way that is accessible and relevant to the public. We do not expect these principles to have a shelf-life. However, we appreciate that specific case-studies that one may choose to include may become outdated. We invite you, the bidder, to propose an appropriate 'shelf-life' for these aspects as part of your proposal. Also note that the Department of Health will own the intellectual property of this work after its completion; they reserve the right to update the guidance as it  becomes necessary.

 
Q. Section 4.2 of the Tender Specification indicates that paper records are out of scope but also states ‘The record can be in digital format either held on physical media...’ which would seem to infer a paper record. The list of examples includes ‘Patient-held records (e.g. Maternity)’ which are frequently paper records too.

A. 'Physical Media' refers to things like USB Memory Sticks. It does not infer paper records. I can confirm that paper records are out of scope. I apologise for the confusion  regarding the reference to Maternity records.

 
Q. [Deadline for submissions: Friday 24 February 2012] Please confirm what that implies - is it before Friday / Friday by noon / or close of play etc

A. Close of Play

 
Q. Regarding the tender specification for the Guidance for Patients on Safe Record Keeping Project.  Section 4.6 of the tender specification states: 'supporting material to allow BCS to seek endorsements should be prepared.' Could you please provide further details on the scope and requirements for endorsement?

A. We are requesting that the winning bidder prepare some letter templates that we can send out when we seek endorsements once the guidance is complete. It will also be desirable to have a list of recommended organisations and individuals and their contact details, to approach for this purpose even though this is not essential.

 
Q. Section 5.2 of the Tender Specification refers to a 'detailed financial statement' being required as part of reporting; while perfectly happy with this in principle, I wondered precisely what format that would take, so that I could build in any overhead that this might create if it were unduly onerous. I expect not, but would prefer to be sure

A. We do not require any specific format. We will be using the financial statement as a way of ensuring that the winning bidder's actual cost maps roughly with the estimated cost in the proposal and that the project is on budget. BCS also needs this to demonstrate how the money is being spent to the DHID. This is part of a contractual agreement between BCS and the DHID. 
 
 
Q. Your deadline is given as 'by Friday 24th February' - is this midnight of 23rd / 24th or 24 / 25th? Or did you have a cut-off time on the Friday?

A. 2359 Friday 24th  ie. 24/25th. 

 
Q. The project states that the deliverable should achieve Crystal Mark assurance. We note that the DH and NHS Connecting for Health are corporate members of the Plain Englsih Society who award the Crystal Mark. Could you confirm that the deliverables can be validated through either of those routes, albeit the cost of processing the specific document is acknowledged to be bourne by the winning tenderer.

A. The DH has advised that you should check this with Crystal Mark themselves. No special provisions has been made for this project.