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Residential and nursing care home provision

Residential and nursing care home provision

How to submit a tender for our residential and nursing care homes provision and details of the care home provider forum.

Tender background

Under the Better Lives Programme the aim is to enable people to live as independently as possible for as long as possible.

Where residential or nursing care is assessed by Bristol City Council as the only safe way to meet someone’s needs, then these services will be commissioned and brokered.

From July 2018 Residential and Nursing Care Home Placements for older people will be made at the Bristol Rate. We (Bristol City Council) expect to purchase all Residential and Nursing care homes for older people at the Bristol Rate.

A cost of care exercise was used to determine how much the Bristol Rate should be.

Further information about the Bristol Rate can be found on the Bristol City Council agenda pack webpage.  If you have any query regarding the Bristol Rate please contact AdultCommissioning@bristol.gov.uk.

Care Home Framework (CHF) 

Bristol City Council commissions residential and nursing care through an open framework. The open framework has been running since 2016 and ends in 2021.

To secure a place on the framework, you must meet our minimum quality standards outlined in the tender documents in the ProContract system. Details for accessing ProContract are below.

Only providers on the framework will have the opportunity to secure new placements unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Spot and block contracts

Spot and block contracts will be called off from this framework. Spot contracts relate to individual placement agreements. Block contracts relate to arrangements for multiple placement agreements or an agreement for a specific type of service.

Spot placements are made through Support Planning and Brokerage.

Block contracts are advertised and awarded via ProContract.

How to submit an application

The framework is open and you can submit an application at any time. 

To make a submission you will first need to sign up to ProContract, the online procurement portal: 

Sign up to ProContract

Help and support

You can get help and support on the ProContract system via:

Tender details

Title: Care Home Open Framework: Adult Residential and Nursing Care

Opportunity ID: DN109747

Please see our key points (pdf, 227KB) (opens new window) document to support you to respond to the tender.

Tender evaluation timeframes  

The evaluation of submissions takes place at set intervals. You should submit a response as soon as possible.

Round closure dates:

  • 7 November 2019
  • 7 May 2020
  • 5 November 2020

Outcome and contract set up

The dates are provisional and are subject to change and review by the authority, where this is the case we'll aim to give notice via Procontract before the round closes.

Timescales following submission

The round closes on the evaluation deadline date given.

If no date is given you will receive a notification from ProContract once this is set. You will need to sign up to the opportunity on ProContract for this to happen.

Evaluation and moderation of submissions from this round will take place, expected turnaround is 3 to 6 weeks.

Providers will be notified of the outcome of the submission, expected to be in the week following the moderation.

Providers will be set up on our systems and start receiving details of placement opportunities expected to be complete a week following notification of your tender submission being successful.

You will need to provide additional information for set up at this stage.

The process from the evaluation deadline to successful providers being live on the Framework will be around 6 weeks.

Guidance for using ProContract

When you're on CHF we issue Spot and Block opportunities via the DPS which is also operated by ProContract.

We provide this guidance to help you using the DPS :

Care Home Provider Forum 

We hold regular meetings with providers to discuss provision and future plans.

We now run separate forums for providers who care for:

  • adults of working age
  • older people

There'll also be an annual forum for both types of providers.

Sign up to our mailing list to get updates, minutes and notes from the forums. 

Upcoming forums

12 September 2019: Adults of working age Care Home Provider Forum 

Find out more on the Eventbrite page.

This event is free but you need to book a place in advance. 

Forum meeting notes

Contact information

Care Home Tender

Email: carehomecommissioning@bristol.gov.uk