Professional and Generic Skills Programme

NHS England intends to undertake a procurement for the design, delivery, administration and continuous improvement of a Professional and Generic Skills Programme for postgraduate medical and dental learners across the South West of England. The programme supports the development of leadership, management, communication, patient safety, ethics and quality improvement skills, aligned to the General Medical Council (GMC) Generic Professional Capabilities Framework and wider NHS workforce priorities. Approximately 225 learners are expected to participate each year. The future contract is expected to cover curriculum development, learner recruitment and administration, programme delivery, quality assurance, reporting and ongoing programme improvement. Delivery will be primarily virtual, with flexibility for blended delivery where appropriate. The proposed contract term is an initial three years with the option to extend for up to two further years. This preliminary market engagement exercise seeks feedback from potential providers, particularly higher education institutions and organisations experienced in postgraduate healthcare education. NHS England wishes to gather market intelligence to help refine the specification, understand market capability and capacity, identify potential delivery models, assess risks, and inform the forthcoming procurement strategy. Participation in this engagement exercise will not influence any future procurement process. NHS England has identified that learner demand may change during the life of the contract. Whilst the current requirement is based on approximately 225 learner places per year, the actual number of trainees participating in the programme may increase or decrease in response to workforce needs, funding availability and regional demand. Should a material change in learner numbers be required, any associated increase or decrease in contract value would be subject to budget availability, agreement between the parties, approval through NHS England governance processes, and any necessary business case approvals. NHS England has also identified that the curriculum may need to evolve during the contract term to reflect changes in regulatory requirements, national policy, professional standards, workforce priorities or updates to the General Medical Council's Generic Professional Capabilities Framework. The successful provider will be expected to work collaboratively with NHS England to review and update programme content where required, ensuring the curriculum remains current, compliant and aligned to emerging best practice. Any significant curriculum changes will be subject to appropriate governance and approval processes. Suppliers are invited for market awareness and to provide feedback on draft documents. Further details and the supplier documents can be obtained from the following hyperlink. https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome