Provider Selection Regime (PSR) – Section 25 Annual Summary
The Provider Selection Regime (PSR) came into force on 1 January 2024. It sets out the approach that NHS bodies and local authorities must follow when arranging healthcare services.
The PSR replaces previous procurement rules for these services. Its aim is to make the commissioning process more flexible, proportionate, and responsive to local needs, while ensuring that decisions are transparent and accountable.
The Regime provides a focus on the importance of:
- Quality of services
- Continuity of care for service users
- Collaboration and integration between providers
- Reducing health inequalities and improving access
- Social value and community benefit
How Providers are selected
Under the PSR, authorities can choose providers using one of five processes:
- Direct award A – existing provider is the only capable provider
- Direct award B – people have a choice of providers and the number of providers is not restricted by the authority
- Direct award C – the existing provide is satisfying the existing contract and will likely satisfy the proposed new contract which is not changing considerably
- Most suitable provider process – the authority makes a judgement on which provider is most suitable based on consideration of the key criteria; and awards without competitive tender
- Competitive process – where the authority cannot use any of the other processes or wishes to run a competitive exercise
Transparency and accountability
Although the PSR allows greater flexibility, it also requires openness. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust publishes:
- Transparency notices explaining decisions such as direct awards
- Contract award notices confirming which providers have been appointed
These notices are available via the government’s Find A Tender Service (FTS), ensuring that the public and stakeholders can see how decisions are made.
Annual summary
In line with Regulation 25 of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Foundation Trust publishes an annual summary of contracting carried out under the PSR.
This summary relates to the period of 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2025.
| Detail | Number |
|---|---|
| The number of contracts awarded in the year to which the summary relates where Direct Award Process A, Direct Award Process B or Direct Award Process C was followed | 26 |
| The number of contracts awarded in the year to which the summary relates where the Most Suitable Provider Process was followed | 2 |
| The number of contracts awarded in the year to which the summary relates where the Competitive Process was followed | 3 |
| The number of framework agreements concluded in the year to which the summary relates | 0 |
| The number of contracts awarded based on a framework agreement in the year to which the summary relates | 0 |
| The number of contracts awarded and modifications made in reliance on regulation 14 (urgent award or modification) in the year to which the summary relates | 4 |
| The number of new providers to whom a contract was awarded in the year to which the summary relates | 7 |
| The number of providers who held a contract in the previous year but no longer hold any contracts in the year to which the summary relates | 0 |
| The number of written representations made in accordance with regulation 12(3) and received during standstill periods which ended in the year to which the summary relates and a summary of the nature and impact of those representations | 0 |
| Total number of providers the relevant authority is currently contracted with | 22 |
| Details of any reviews by the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel | No data |
| Number of requests for consideration received by the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel | 0 |
| Number of requests accepted and rejected by the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel for consideration | 0 |
| Number of times where the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel advised the relevant authority to re-run or go back to an earlier step in a provider selection process under the PSR, and the number of times the advice was followed | 0 |