Occupational Health Services (Medicals) - Preliminary Market Engagement - Information for Suppliers and Market Engagement for Appointment Management

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) outsource Occupational Health Medical Services (Health Screening & Surveillance, Medical Examinations, Management Referrals and Professional Medical Advice and Representation).

The current contract is due to expire on 31st October 2027, with no formal extensions available. We are currently developing the specification and procurement documentation for a replacement contract. We intend to commence the procurement process in November 2026.

The future contract will have an initial four year term, with the option to extend up to a maximum term of ten years. A framework agreement will not be used for this procurement. We will be running a Competitive Flexible Procedure with the following stages (subject to change):

Stage 1 - Procurement Specific Questionnaire (to include conditions of participation) - Pass or Fail (suppliers who pass will be invited to tender)

Stage 2 - Invitation to Tender

Stage 3 - Demonstration - Appointment Booking/Management System and Processes

Stage 4 - Preferred Supplier (discussions and due diligence checks prior to award of the contract)

The purpose of this advert is to both update the market on the above information and to invite suppliers to talk to us and show us their appointment booking/management system/processes.

We have recently carried out a staff survey and there is a clear desire for colleagues to be able to easily book, view and reschedule their own appointments. We are also hoping to reduce the administrative burden on our internal People Services Department (Health and Wellbeing and Recruitment Teams), whilst providing them with appointment scheduling information for their oversight/monitoring role (for all appointment types).

There can be challenges presented due to the amount of our firefighters being on-call (808 on-call firefighters and 530 wholetime). On-call firefighters usually have primary employment outside of our organisation. This can present limitations with their availability because of the notice that they need to provide to their primary employer and any other commitments they may have. They therefore need plenty of notice for appointments, can be difficult to get hold of and require appointment options that work for them.

We are keen to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of appointment booking and management, including embracing any available technology to support this. We want to expand our knowledge in this area and therefore invite suppliers to discuss and/or show us the following:

a) Your method to allow staff to self-book, view and amend/reschedule their own appointments (if you have a self-book tool/app, we would be interested to see how this works, particularly for medicals where staff may be required to visit more than one clinician as part of their medical) or your approach to efficiently and effectively book, view and amend/reschedule appointments;

b) How staff are reminded to book or attend an appointment;

c) How staff who are not proactive with self-booking or are difficult to engage in your approach to appointment booking, are managed;

d) The appointment scheduling information provided to our internal contract management team and how this is accessed/provided;

e) Any other technology you may have that helps support efficient and effective appointment management.

We anticipate seeing the most benefits with Firefighter Routine and New Recruit Medicals being self managed through an effective appointment management method (including any follow-up review/repeat test appointments that are required as a result of their medical). However, we would also be interested to see how management referrals, with differing levels of priority for an appointment, could be self managed.

Here are indicative volumes based on the last three financial years of demand data:

Firefighter Routine Medicals - Average 427 per year plus any repeat tests

New Recruit Medicals - Average 87 per year

Management Referrals - Average 238 per year

The information gained will be used to inform our requirements and the evaluation approach.