Case Study

MYRTLE CARE PROVIDERS LIMITED NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Domiciliary Care AQP

Tender Overview

Getting onto an NHS approved provider list is not something that happens automatically for a care business, no matter how long it has been operating or how well regarded it is locally. There is a formal process, and that process has to be completed correctly.

Myrtle Care Providers Limited has been supporting adults in their own homes for a number of years. When NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex opened its Domiciliary Care Any Qualified Provider procurement in 2025, Myrtle Care saw a clear route to expanding their commissioning base and bringing NHS-funded work into the business. They engaged AssuredBID to handle the application from start to finish.

The procurement was administered by NHS HWE Integrated Care Board through the CarePulse eProcurement portal and governed by the Provider Selection Regime. Providers applying to the AQP were assessed across a defined set of criteria covering financial robustness, regulatory compliance, safeguarding governance, data protection, workforce management, and operational capability. Every criterion had to be satisfied. The ICB then approved all providers that met the full standard and added them to the pool from which commissioners and service users select when arranging NHS-funded care packages.

Unlike a scored competition, AQP approval is not about coming first. But it is equally unforgiving. A shortfall in one area produces the same outcome as a shortfall in every area: the application does not go through.

Challenges Faced

Myrtle Care had experience of tendering for care contracts, but NHS procurement operates under a different set of expectations from local authority or independent sector commissioning. The evidential standard is higher. The regulatory references are more specific. The way governance arrangements, safeguarding systems, and workforce practices need to be described to satisfy an NHS evaluator is distinct from how the same information might be presented in a council tender.

A well-run care business can still produce an application that does not convince an NHS commissioner if the responses are not calibrated to what that commissioner is specifically looking for. Generic statements about caring for people well, or broad descriptions of quality assurance in principle, do not meet the standard. What is needed is specific, documented evidence of how the organisation actually functions.

The Provider Selection Regime was also relatively new at the time of this procurement. Its competitive process route has procedural requirements that many providers had not previously navigated, and the consequences of getting those procedural elements wrong can affect the validity of an application even when the written content is strong.

What We Did

AssuredBID started by auditing Myrtle Care’s existing documentation before a single response was written. Policies, CQC records, insurance schedules, financial statements, and workforce documentation were all reviewed in full. That process produced a clear inventory: what was ready, what needed to be brought up to date, and where content needed to be written from nothing.

Every section of the application was developed around how Myrtle Care specifically operates. The safeguarding section described their actual policies, their staff training arrangements, and how concerns are raised and responded to within the organisation. The governance section explained their oversight structure and how care quality is monitored on an ongoing basis. The workforce section covered how they recruit care staff, how induction and training work, and how supervision is managed in practice. The operational delivery section addressed referral handling, care planning, and service management within the Hertfordshire and West Essex area.

The supporting document pack was built alongside the written submission. Every document required by the specification was sourced, verified for currency and correct format, and uploaded against the right section of the CarePulse application ahead of the portal deadline. Nothing was treated as a secondary concern. On an AQP that has no safety net, the document pack matters as much as the written responses.

The Outcome

On 9 March 2026, NHS HWE Integrated Care Board confirmed that Myrtle Care Providers Limited had been approved. Following the statutory standstill period, the contract was signed and services commenced on 1 April 2026.


Client	Myrtle Care Providers Limited
Commissioner	NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB
Procurement	NHS HWE Domiciliary Care AQP 2025
Contract Start	1 April 2026
Result	Successful

Conclusion

Myrtle Care Providers Limited now holds a contracted position on the NHS HWE approved provider list, giving them access to a commissioning channel across one of England’s larger ICB geographies. The contract opened a referral stream that had not previously been available to their business. The formal approval by the ICB also constitutes a documented assessment of Myrtle Care’s standards, one that is relevant and verifiable in any future procurement they pursue, whether with NHS commissioners or elsewhere.

If your care business wants to move into NHS commissioning or strengthen the quality of your tender submissions, contact AssuredBID at www.assuredbid.co.uk and speak with a member of our bid writing team about your next opportunity.

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MYRTLE CARE PROVIDERS LIMITED NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Domiciliary Care AQP

Tender Overview

Challenges Faced

What We Did

The Outcome

Conclusion

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