About the Health Systems Support Framework

The NHS England Health Systems Support Framework (HSSF) was created to support Population Health Management and the delivery of integrated care. It provides the NHS and its partners with access to an extensive network of accredited third-party suppliers with expertise in essential support services ranging from digital infrastructure and advanced analytics, to system transformation and tools to support self-management and the personalisation of care. The scope of the HSSF is limited to non-clinical services and those that do not involve the direct provision of patient care.

NHS and partner organisations can use the Framework to:

  • Engage with suppliers to inform planning and resourcing assumptions before going to market.
  • Procure support services via an NHSEI quality-assured route.

The advantages of using the HSSF to procure support services are:

  • Improved outcomes. The expertise of our suppliers is assessed by NHS subject matter experts before they are allowed onto the Framework. NHS organisations and their partners can therefore be confident that they will be able to access the right support solutions.
  • Higher quality. Our bespoke contracts enable the application of key standards in areas such as Intellectual Property, Information Governance and Data Protection.
  • More choice. Get direct access to a range of smaller niche suppliers offering innovative solutions.
  • Save time. Using a Framework of suppliers whose capabilities have already been assessed by NHS England means that support can often be accessed more quickly than it would through a local procurement.

What’s on the Health Systems Support Framework?

The Framework is structured around the three core elements of Population Health Management: Infrastructure, Intelligence and Interventions. Our Scope of Framework page provides further information on the types of services that fall within each of the HSSF service lines. Our Accredited Supplier Lists confirm the names of the organisations that are currently accredited to the HSSF.

How do I use the Health Systems Support Framework?

  • When the terms of a framework agreement are not precise enough to directly award a contract, the Buyer must run a further competition, as per Regulation 33 8b.
  • When the terms of a framework agreement are precise enough to directly award a contract, the Buyer must award the contract in accordance with the pre-prescribed rules (call-off protocol) detailed in the Buyers Guide (Schedule 5 – Ordering Procedure).
  • Buyers must complete framework access agreement for each time they undertake a call-off contract and comply with all the terms stipulated (section 13) in the access agreement. Failure to comply with the terms agreed in the framework access agreement may invalidate the legal framework compliance of your contract and may create the risks of supplier challenges.

Send details of your requirements to hssf.enquiries@nhs.net and we will provide further information and support to help your organization use the Framework.

Who can use the Health Systems Support Framework?

The HSSF can be used by any NHS organisation, including Integrated Care Systems, NHS Trusts, Primary Care Networks and GP Practices. It can also be used by NHS partners such as Local Authorities, Local Authority-commissioned care providers, Academic Health Science Networks and any other health service body as defined at section 9 National Health Service Act 2006. See here for a detailed list.

What is the cost of using the framework?

The framework is free for NHS Buyers to use and there is no fee/charge for NHS organisations for using HSSF framework. NHS England will charge suppliers 1.3% of the contract value for the first year and 1% for the subsequent years to support the administrative cost of the framework management.

Feedback from organisations that have used the Health Systems Support Framework

“NHS England’s HSSF Team played a critical role by getting us access to the right external expertise and by helping us to test the viability of the project by testing the market”.

Assistant Head, Strategic Commissioning Team, UK Strategic Command Headquarters, Defence Medical Service Group.