Provision of Dental Services (PDS Plus contracts) in the West Midlands

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands CSU (AGCSU) on behalf of NHS England Midlands and East (West Midlands) is inviting suitably qualified and experienced providers to tender for delivery of Dental Services, under PDS Plus contracts, in the West Midlands.

To access the documentation and submit your response please register your organisation on the Bravo website: https://ardengemcsu.bravosolution.co.uk. The ITT reference is itt_530 and responses should be made by 14:00 hrs on 23rd September 2016.

There are 23 Lots covering Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire, and Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country. Each Lot has an indicative number of UDAs, detailed in the ITT documentation.

The form of contract will be the NHS PDS Plus agreement. Contracts will be for an initial term of 3 years with the potential to extend for a further 2 years (maximum 5 years).

Potential bidders are advised that the majority of the activity being advertised is currently being delivered under existing PDS contracts. Holders of PDS contracts have a contractual right under Regulation 21 of the PDS Regulations to request a GDS contract. NHS England is currently liaising with existing holders of PDS contracts in respect of potential conversions to GDS contracts and it is anticipated that a significant proportion could formalise conversions in the near future, resulting in a reduction in the Lots within this procurement. Lots 7 & 16 are unaffected by conversion activity. All remaining Lots are advertised subject to potential conversion into GDS, confirmation of which is not known at this stage.

Additional information: How to Express Interest in this Tender: 1. Register your company on the eSourcing portal (this is only required once) — Browse to the eSourcing Portal: https://ardengemcsu.bravosolution.co.uk and click the link to register — Accept the terms and conditions and click ‘continue' — Enter your correct business and user details — Note the user-name you chose and click ‘Save' when complete — You will shortly receive an e-mail with your unique password (please keep this secure)

2. Express an Interest in the tender — Login to the portal with your username/password — Click the ‘PQQs / ITTs Open To All Suppliers' link. (These are Pre-Qualification Questionnaires or Invitations to Tender open to any registered supplier) — Click on the relevant PQQ/ ITT to access the content — Click the ‘Express Interest' button at the top of the page — This will move the PQQ /ITT into your ‘My PQQs/ My ITTs' page (This is a secure area reserved for your projects only) — You can now access any attachments by clicking ‘Buyer Attachments' in the ‘PQQ/ ITT Details' box

3. Responding to the tender — Click ‘My Response' under ‘PQQ/ ITT Details'; you can choose to ‘Create Response' or to ‘Decline to Respond' (please give a reason if declining) — You can now use the ‘Messages' function to communicate with the buyer and seek any clarification — Note the deadline for completion, then follow the on-screen instructions to complete the PQQ/ ITT — There may be a mixture of online and off-line actions for you to perform (there is detailed on-line help available).

You must then submit your reply using the ‘Submit Response' button at the top of the page. If you require any further assistance please consult the on-line help, or contact the eTendering helpdesk