Advice for private sector organisations migrating to HSCN
Advice for NHS and public sector organisations migrating to HSCN
The N3 contract for wide area data network services in the NHS ended as planned on 31 March 2017.
For a fixed amount of time, NHS Digital has put in place an HSCN Transition Network which retains elements of the legacy N3 infrastructure and provides service continuity for existing customers. However, organisations and services connected to this need to migrate to new HSCN connectivity as soon as possible.
In order to ensure the orderly close down of the HSCN Transition Network, organisations need to plan and execute their migration to HSCN connectivity and exit from the Transition Network as soon as possible. There are benefits to you in doing this;
You can obtain HSCN connectivity through a number of different routes and, in order to support your migration, NHS Digital needs to understand how you wish to proceed.
As of July 2019 RM1045 was replaced by RM3808 as the Crown Commercial Service framework for HSCN and other network services.
Please see the Network Services 2 section of the Crown Commercial Service website for further details
Every organisation connected to the Transition Network will be supported by the HSCN procurement team to buy replacement HSCN services. After selecting your HSCN supplier you will be assigned a migration manager to assist with your migration to HSCN
To get in contact with the appropriate migration manager to discuss your HSCN procurement and/or migration further please email enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk.
This information is provided as general guidance; please contact your Regional Migration Manager to discuss your options in detail. If you decide to run your own collaborative procurement there are deadlines you need to meet, and if you want to join your regional aggregated procurement please refer to the timetable to make sure you know when it's happening.
Please consider the HSCN dynamic purchasing system (DPS) RM3825 the primary route to market for HSCN services. RM3825 has been specifically designed for procurement of HSCN services and so its scope and the associated terms and conditions are aligned to HSCN connectivity services. It is expected that all HSCN compliant suppliers will join the DPS. All NHS Digital managed aggregated procurements will be run on RM3825.
Whilst RM3825 is considered to be the primary route to market, you can also use the existing Crown Commercial Service Network Services 2 Framework RM3808 or use an Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) procurement route.
The table below summarises your options. If you decide to run your own procurement you may have additional local options such as existing agreements which aren't shown here.
OJEU process | RM3825 | RM3808 | |
---|---|---|---|
Aggregated procurement (NHS Digital-led) | N/A | All aggregated procurements will be run on RM3825 as a further competition and will be managed by NHS Digital. | N/A |
Collaborative self-serve procurement (customer-led) | You have the option of running your own OJEU procurement for HSCN compliant services. You may want to consider this option if:
|
You can use the HSCN DPS to run a competition. This is expected to be a quicker and simpler option than an OJEU. Direct awards are not an option. |
RM3808 launched in 2019. You should note that it only has a limited number of HSCN compliant suppliers and will not be accepting new suppliers |
Individual self-serve procurement (customer-led) | You have the option of running your own OJEU procurement for HSCN compliant services. Given the amount of effort involved in running an OJEU procurement however, this is only likely to be a potential route for an organisation with a significant number of sites. | You have the option of running a mini-competition on the DPS. Direct Awards are not supported. | You can use RM3808 to either run a mini-competition or do a Direct Award, if appropriate. Note the constraints above. |
You need primarily to consider whether you have the knowledge, capability and resources for running your own procurement (either in collaboration with other organisations or on your own) or whether you would prefer NHS Digital to manage the procurement of HSCN connectivity on your behalf.
Your choice of purchasing route won't affect the HSCN connectivity services accessible to you or the level of funding devolved to NHS organisations.
If you're uncertain and don't already have clear plans to manage your own procurement of HSCN services, either in collaboration with others or on your own, we would strongly recommend you consider joining an aggregated procurement managed by NHS Digital. In this scenario you'll have the chance to input your connectivity requirements and to understand the type and cost of HSCN connectivity services available to you prior to finalising a contract for those services.
We anticipate there being numerous connectivity suppliers competing to deliver HSCN compliant services and would strongly recommend you seek to obtain HSCN connectivity via open market competition, managed by yourself or by us on your behalf, in order to ensure best value is achieved.
An overview of the HSCN procurement routes available is provided below.
To support timely migration to HSCN connectivity NHS Digital will be managing a series of aggregated procurements that will combine health and social care organisations' HSCN connectivity requirements into a single procurement, based on a geographical footprint and other relevant considerations.
This provides a simple way to obtain HSCN connectivity as it won't require organisations to work together operationally or to establish shared network management arrangements; organisations simply need to provide their connectivity requirements to NHS Digital. It will also deliver cost effective connectivity as a result of aggregating demand and will enable you to collaborate with other health and social care organisations in due course.
If you opt to join an aggregated procurement, NHS Digital will work with you to understand your requirements and feed this into the procurement process. This will ensure we go to market on your behalf to obtain a service that meets your business needs.
We plan to go to market requesting pricing for HSCN services that are equivalent to the Transition Network connectivity in place today as well as a number of other options which your input will help us to define. This will enable you to see what is available before finalising a contract for the services.
Non-NHS public sector organisations can be included in NHS Digital-led aggregated procurements as long as they are able to conform to the timetable outlined below and their HSCN connectivity requirements are straightforward. If you would like to nominate any such organisation for inclusion in an aggregated procurement please let us know by email to enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk.
Customers who:
NHS Digital will manage a series of aggregated procurements that will combine health and social care organisations' requirements into a single procurement based on a geographic footprint, or other relevant considerations.
Following the successful go live of the HSCN Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) RM3825 in November 2017 all aggregated procurements will be run on RM3825. NHS Digital are now launching aggregated procurements and will stagger the release dates to ensure timely migration while encouraging maximum supplier participation in each aggregated procurements
Organisations are encouraged to join an NHS Digital-run aggregated procurement if they do not have mature collaborative or individual self-serve procurement plans in place. Organisations wishing to join an aggregated procurement will need to provide their connectivity requirements and commitment to participate to NHS Digital in advance of its launch.
Even if you have collaborative arrangements in place you may prefer to join an aggregated procurement to have NHS Digital do it for you. This is fine; however, you are reminded that the procurement will be planned and managed by NHS Digital and therefore you may have less opportunity to shape the outcome, compared to a collaborative approach.
Aggregated procurements will deliver 3+1+1 year contracts, so whilst you may not be ready to mobilise your own collaborative approach now, you will have the option to collaborate with your partners in the future.
Aggregated procurements are being planned on a regional basis; you'll be grouped with other organisations in your region, including those in neighbouring sustainability and transformation partnership (STP) footprints. All aggregated procurements will be run as further competitions on RM3825. The Crown Commercial Service launched RM3825 in November 2017, however NHS Digital will stagger the launch of each aggregated procurement. The output of each procurement will be a catalogue of HSCN services, provided by a single supplier, from which you can order the HSCN connectivity services that you need. You have to be included in the aggregated procurement when it goes to market if you want to order services from the catalogue.
Some organisations are collaborating with health and social care partners in the procurement of a shared network.
Collaborative procurements require organisations to work together operationally. Specifically they need to understand their joint requirements and establish joint governance and shared network management arrangements.
Collaborations also need to have local project, procurement and legal resources in place to run their procurement to the timetable set out below.
NHS Digital will provide support to collaborative network procurement initiatives and, where these make use of RM3825, we'll work in conjunction with CCS to help customers to deliver them.
Customers who:
For a more detailed look at customer-led collaborative procurements, including timelines and guidance on whether this is the right route for you, visit the HSCN customer journey pages.
You can manage your own procurement of HSCN connectivity without involving other organisations. This won't constrain your ability to access and share data with other health and social care organisations connected to HSCN.
NHS Digital will provide online guidance, tools and processes for customers to use but there will be little day-to-day central involvement other than help with migration capacity planning and progress reporting.
Individual self-serve procurements are intended for single organisations that don't wish to participate in either a collaborative or an aggregated procurement. These organisations typically want to quickly deploy commodity connections through either a framework or an existing arrangement. NHS Digital encourages you to procure HSCN services through a competitive process, however it is ultimately your choice.
Customers who:
For a more detailed look at customer-led individual self-serve procurements, including timelines and guidance on whether this is the right route for you, you can visit the HSCN customer journey pages.
Regardless of the chosen procurement route, each organisation must ensure that the Mandatory Supplemental Terms are included in its contract with the supplier.
For procurements run via the CCS RM3825 dynamic purchasing system, the Mandatory Supplemental Terms will already be incorporated in the associated contractual documentation. For procurements run outside of RM3825, organisations must include these to ensure that these key terms are understood by both customer and supplier organisations and adhered to.
By signing the Connection Agreement consumer organisations are obliged to include these terms in their supplier contracts. Suppliers are also obliged to include these terms via their commitment to adhere to the HSCN Obligations Framework.
Across England there are a number of collaborative procurement initiatives taking place where a variety of NHS and social care organisations are coming together to procure HSCN services, often across sustainability and transformation plan (STP) areas. Where health and care organisations, including clinical commissioning groups, purchase network services together they use a Single Supplier Framework.
Below is the checklist of actions for which prospective collaborations need to provide evidence they have in place well in advance of the launch of the aggregated procurement for their region. Where collaborations are not confident of meeting these requirements well in advance of the aggregated procurement for their region NHS Digital will bring the organisations involved into the scope of an aggregated procurement.
An Intelligent Client Function in the context of HSCN is a capability performed by a lead organisation or group of lead organisations that:
If you wish to join a collaborative group in your region you will need to confirm this formally by getting in touch with your Migration Manager by email at enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk in order to confirm this.
When considering a collaborative approach, you'll need to work with your partners to understand how you'll:
Customers choosing a collaborative approach typically already have the necessary operating model in place with their partners. This is because they already deliver collaborative IT programmes, such as community of interest networks (CoINs) or other shared IT services. This operating model, which we call an Intelligent Client Function, includes a nominated lead organisation, a procurement capability, access to legal resources and the governance structures and working groups such as a technical design authority. They also already manage shared solutions and contracts/frameworks in-life.
However, some groups of organisations are coming together to build new collaborative capabilities to deliver their own HSCN solution. These groups are typically aligned to the STP footprints and will have longer term visions or strategies for delivering shared IT services; they see HSCN as one of the first steps on that journey.
Some organisations are collaborating with health and social care partners in the procurement of a shared regional network.
Collaborative procurements require organisations to work together operationally. Specifically, they need to understand their joint requirements and establish joint governance and shared network management arrangements.
Collaborative procurements can be run via the new RM3825 HSCN framework, which is NHS Digital's recommendation. Other frameworks such as, RM1045, do not offer the full range of HSCN complaint suppliers. Some collaboratives are using an OJEU, which is suitable if you have requirements broader than just connectivity and the appropriate resource and expertise to use this framework.
If organisations are not already well progressed with a collaborative procurement they are advised to join an aggregated procurement. They can consider collaborating with other organisations for future contract renewals and for information sharing without procuring as part of a collaborative.
HSCN will be delivered by multiple suppliers providing interoperable network services that adhere to an agreed set of standards. This means health and social care organisations are able to replace existing N3 connectivity services with HSCN services bought from a choice of suppliers within a competitive marketplace.
Details of suppliers that have applied for and achieved HSCN compliance to date can be found on the HSCN Suppliers page. This is updated regularly.
If you're interested in understanding more about the supplier compliance process visit the HSCN Suppliers page.
NHS Digital, as the organisation responsible for Aggregated Procurements, has determined that it requires suppliers to be stage 1 compliant to engage in an aggregated procurement and stage 2 compliant in order for a bid to be considered valid.
This means suppliers must be stage 2 compliant by the time they submit their bid as this will be a pass/fail test in the tender evaluation process.
NHS Digital are anticipating that most existing stage 1 compliant suppliers will have achieved stage 2 compliance by the time bids are expected for the first aggregated procurement. As a result NHS Digital does not expect this stance to constrain competition within the Aggregated Procurements.
Table 1 below summarises the level of supplier compliance required during an NHS Digital-led aggregated procurement for HSCN connectivity services.
NHS Digital-led Aggregated Procurement Stage | Engage in formal procurement activity | Submit a tender for HSCN connectivity services | Enter into contract for HSCN connectivity services | Deploy live HSCN connectivity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Compliance stage | Stage 1 compliance required | Stage 2 compliance required | Stage 2 compliance required | Stage 2 compliance required |
Suppliers must be stage 1 compliant in order to market themselves as an HSCN supplier, take part in HSCN connectivity procurement activity or quote to provide HSCN connectivity services.
NHS Digital expects suppliers to be in a position to provide pricing/quotes for HSCN connectivity services once they have achieved stage 1 compliance.
Stage 1 compliance is also required to get onto the new Crown commercial Service run HSCN DPS (known as RM3825) due to launch in November.
The stage at which suppliers need to have stage 2 compliance is determined by the organisations responsible for the procurement and is a risk management decision.
Meaning - how far am I prepared to progress my HSCN procurement without knowing for sure that the supplier is capable of deploying live HSCN services?
We recommend that customers require suppliers to have achieved stage 2 compliance prior to award of contract for connectivity services. This will mitigate risks associated with awarding a contract for HSCN services to a supplier who is yet to demonstrate they are able to deploy live HSCN connectivity successfully.
Customers can award contracts for HSCN services to stage 1 compliant suppliers on the basis that they will achieve stage 2 compliance within a defined timescale. This would be done by making the achievement of stage 2 compliance a condition within the contract, known as a 'Condition Precedent', with the preferred bidder. There are risks associated with this if, for example, the supplier fails to achieve stage 2 compliance as and when required by the 'Condition Precedent' within the contract.
Conversely it is also possible for customers to require suppliers to be stage 2 compliant earlier in the procurement process, such as prior to accepting formal bids or quotes for HSCN services.
Table 2 below summarises the level of supplier compliance required or recommended during the procurement of HSCN Connectivity services.
Procurement stage | Engage in formal procurement activity or provide a quote for an HSCN connectivity service | Submit a tender for HSCN connectivity services | Enter into contract for HSCN connectivity services | Deploy live HSCN connectivity |
---|---|---|---|---|
Compliance stage | Stage 1 compliance required | Stage 1 compliance required Customer may choose to require stage 2 compliance at this stage |
Stage 1 compliance required Stage 2 compliance recommended |
Stage 2 compliance required |