Community Ophthalmology Services

The scope of the service will include: • Provision of high quality, accessible, community-based services which deliver excellent outcomes, meeting the needs of patients in-line with best practice; • Assessment, investigation and treatment (including minor procedures) of patients with eye conditions, in the community; • Clinical services under clear and accountable governance arrangements with senior clinical leadership from a consultant ophthalmologist; • Acceptance of referrals from GPs, optometrists and hospital eye services; • Provision of administrative and clinical triage for all referrals for outpatient ophthalmology, supporting patients to access the right care first time; • Direction of referrals to hospital based care where necessary; • Maximum patient waiting times of four weeks for routine referrals and two weeks for urgent referrals; • Delivery of education and up-skilling for primary care professionals and provision of pathway management; • Delivery of patient education to enable self-care and prevention; • Sign-posting to third sector organisations for additional support where appropriate; • Provision of an advice line for referrers, providing timely advice to support better diagnosis in primary care and improved referral quality; and • Use of SystmOne, or a compatible system, to transfer all information for patients, appointment booking and referrals management.

The procurement will be split into two separate lots based on geography and service demand: • Lot 1 will cover NHS Central London CCG; and • Lot 2 will cover Hammersmith and Fulham CCG and NHS West London CCG.

The contract will be for three years with an option to extend for a further two years. It is intended that the new service will commence from September 2015. The combined total value of the contract over three years is estimated at circa. £6,000,000.

Recognising that this service falls within Part B of the Public Contract Regulations 2006, the Contracting Authority has designed a bespoke procurement process akin to the Open Procedure, involving a single stage procurement.

Expressions of Interest are now invited from potential bidders, intending to participate through the procurement process. Please register your interest and access the procurement documents (service specification, bidder instructions, bidder application questionnaire, etc) via the electronic procurement portal EU-Supply available at https://nhssbs.eu-supply.com. Once you have logged into the EU-Supply Portal, SEARCH FOR TENDER REFERENCE 19795 (Community Ophthalmology Services).

Registration on EU-Supply is FREE and the attached EU-Supply – Quick User Guide will be helpful. If you need technical support to register and use the EU-Supply Portal, please contact the EU-Supply Helpdesk on 0800 840 2050 or [email protected].

**The DEADLINE for submissions of Tenders, which must be through the EU-Supply Portal, is 12 NOON, MONDAY 18th MAY 2015**