NHS Provider Selection Regime
The Provider Selection Regime (PSR) will be a set of new rules for arranging healthcare services in England by organisations termed relevant authorities. Relevant authorities will be NHS England, integrated care boards, NHS trusts and foundation trusts, and local or combined authorities. The PSR will not apply to the procurement of goods or non-healthcare services, irrespective of whether these are procured by relevant authorities.
Subject to parliamentary processes, the Department of Health and Social Care aims to introduce the PSR by the end of 2023. As soon as the Department of Health and Social Care announces the commencement date of the PSR, NHS England will update this webpage to communicate timings for implementation roll-out.
Until the PSR is in force, relevant authorities should continue to follow the current rules (the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and the Procurement, Patient Choice, and Competition Regulations 2013) for any healthcare contract awards. This means that if a procurement exercise is initiated under the current rules, then it should be completed under those rules.
The PSR will aim to introduce increased flexibility and transparency to the procurement of healthcare services and will aim to support greater integration and the establishment of stable collaborations. However, the PSR will still require organisations to comply with various processes to evidence decision-making, including record keeping and the publication of transparency notices. Competitive tendering will also remain an important tool for organisations to use when it is of benefit.
The PSR will be introduced by regulations made under the Health and Care Act 2022. Once the PSR is in force, it will replace the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and the Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition Regulations 2013 for the procurement of healthcare services by relevant authorities.
A preview of the proposals for the PSR is available. These are a preview only and not final policy.
The PSR has been developed in response to consultations by both NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care. The Department of Health and Social Care’s response to their supplementary consultation on the detail of the proposed regulations was published on 13 July 2023.