NHS Shared Business Services Limited has published a pre-market engagement notice for its proposed Patient Discharge and Mental Health Step Down (Beds) Care Services framework (SBS10541). With an indicative value of £300 million excluding VAT over four years, the future framework is intended to provide a route to market for discharge services, mental health and step down care beds, and virtual wards for NHS and wider public sector organisations.
If you are considering whether this future framework could be a good fit, contact Thornton & Lowe. We can help you assess the opportunity early, shape your lot strategy and prepare for the future tender process.
Framework Lots: Why Structure Matters for Healthcare Providers
At this stage, NHS SBS is signalling its intention to engage the market before publishing a future contract notice. The proposed lotting structure currently includes three service areas:
- Lot 1 – Discharge to Assess Services: Supporting safe and timely hospital discharges through assessment-led care outside acute settings.
- Lot 2 – Mental Health Step Down Care Beds Services: Providing crucial transitional care beds for mental health patients moving from hospital care towards community-based recovery.
- Lot 3 – Virtual Wards (Hospital at Home): Enabling out-of-hospital monitoring and care via telehealth or digital tools.
Lot structure is significant. Providers can target their bid to a specific service, harnessing specialisation, or consolidate across lots if they offer integrated solutions. For suppliers with niche expertise (for example, in mental health beds or digital care platforms), lotting creates a more accessible path to framework access. Conversely, those with broader service portfolios can showcase their scale and integration capabilities.
Proposed Lot Structure and Service Scope
The opportunity is potentially significant because NHS SBS frameworks can be used by a broad range of Approved Organisations, including NHS bodies, integrated care boards, local authorities, NHS trusts, NHS foundation trusts, NHS England and other authorised organisations.
The proposed framework is intended to provide a route to market for Discharge to Assess services, Mental Health and Step Down Care Beds services, and Virtual Wards. That breadth means providers should start thinking now about where their strongest evidence sits, what service model they can support, and how they would position themselves if the lotting structure remains broadly as proposed.
Your organisation must consider:
- Which proposed lot best fits your core service model: discharge support, mental health and step down beds, virtual wards, or more than one
How you will evidence service quality and patient outcomes: especially in pathways involving discharge, recovery, rehabilitation and home-based care
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Your readiness for partnership delivery: many providers will need to show how they work across health, social care and community settings
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Your sustainability and social value position: NHS SBS says both areas will carry sufficient weighting in the future tender
With the contract notice estimated for 27 January 2027, providers have time to prepare. This is the right stage to review compliance, sharpen service models, develop stronger case studies and decide where your offer is most competitive.
Quick Facts
- Framework value: £300 million over 4 years
- Contracting authority: NHS Shared Business Services Limited
- Scope: Patient discharge, step down care, mental health beds, virtual wards
- Service users: NHS organisations, wider public sector
- Lots: 1) Discharge to Assess, 2) Mental Health Step Down Beds, 3) Virtual Wards
Key Dates
- Framework duration: 4 years
- Pre-market engagement notice published: 31 March 2026
- Estimated contract notice publication: 27 January 2027
What Providers Should Do Before Tender Release
- Engage with the PMEQ now. NHS SBS is actively using pre-market engagement to inform the future framework, so this is the stage to ask questions and shape your understanding.
- Monitor the official notice for updates. Framework details and requirements may evolve before release.
- Analyse the lot structure and prepare evidence for the specific services you want to offer.
- Build cross-functional teams now, especially if your services span multiple lots or sectors.
- Review prior NHS SBS frameworks for expectations around pricing, track record, and safeguarding.
- Plan for scalability and robust reporting. Frameworks of this scale will expect clear, outcome-focused metrics.
This is an important early-stage opportunity for providers in discharge support, step down care and virtual wards that want to position themselves well ahead of a future NHS SBS framework. The priority now is preparation, not final tender submission.
If you want to prepare early for SBS10541, contact Thornton & Lowe. We can help you assess the opportunity, shape your early engagement approach and get your organisation ready for the future tender.
