NHS England and NHS Improvement South West - Mandatory Dental Services

NHS England and NHS Improvement South West (NHSE/I SW) seeks Expressions of Interest (EOI) from providers who have the capability and capacity to deliver additional Primary Care Mandatory Dental Services from suitable premises within the South West region.

The service will support access to dental care for patients through the delivery of NHS dental services.

The aim of the dental service is:

• To increase access to dental services for those patients who do not currently have a dentist. • To provide Mandatory Dental Services to the cohort of patients who do not currently have a dentist. • To improve the oral health of patients treated. • The service includes the provision of urgent care and delivery of the CDO initiative 'Starting Well Core'.

The principal aim is to secure services in the following geographic areas. These areas have been identified as the priority areas for access, primarily based on replacing activity which has ceased within this financial year. The UDA rate will be paid at the SW Regional average UDA rate which is £28.91; this UDA rate includes the provision of all services listed within this notification document and as set out above. A percentage of each new contract will be devoted to Starting Well Core, the proportion of which will be agreed for each contract as this may vary dependent upon the local population.

Priority Areas The geographical areas where activity is prioritised for commissioning are shown in the table attached (Priority Areas.pdf) along with the indicative levels of activity sought.

Dependent upon the level of success in securing services in the above prioritised areas, commissioners will secondarily consider interest in the provision of services to the same specification in other areas within the South West. For those other areas where the additional activity is commissioned outside of the priority areas, the UDA rate will be paid at the SW Regional average UDA rate which is £28.91; this UDA rate includes the provision of all services listed within this notification document and as set out above.

The combined contracts will be awarded up to a total financial envelope of approx. £4.87m per financial year, apportioned across the region and based upon expressions of interest and the application of the commissioner's prioritisation model. Contract performance criteria will include the measurement and assessment of the number of additional new patients accepted for treatment and delivery against the Starting Well Core initiative.

Additional information: Interested parties must be both eligible to hold a PDS (Personal Dental Services) contract and have or be able to achieve appropriate CQC registration, as well as demonstrate that they can perform the full range of Mandatory Dental Services from premises accessible to patients in line with relevant guidance and legislation. Providers must be able to mobilise services prior to September 2022.

Priority will be given to expressions of interest based on the following criteria:

• Firstly, that activity is identified within the locality in which activity has ceased within this financial year. • Secondly, areas with lower-than-average access based on the England average over 12 months for children and 24 for adults.

Expressions of Interest Expressions of Interest received will enable the SW Dental team to finalise their commissioning approach. Providers wishing to express an interest will be required to complete the questionnaire using the MS Form - Expression of Interest by midday on Monday 14th February 2022. Receipt of Expressions of interest received after this date cannot be considered.

This exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central & West Commissioning Support Unit on behalf of NHSE/I.

This PIN as a call for competition is initially published as a notice for expressions of interest. The Commissioner may then choose to proceed directly to a process with parties who have responded to the notice and there shall be no further notice published.

Should NHSE/I proceed to a process it may consist of two phases:

(1) Phase 1 would entail urgent placement of Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) (which may be temporary or recurrent) in accordance with the prioritisation model, with providers expressing their interest and providing acceptable evidence of their capability and capacity in relation to the service requirements. This evidence may be subject to further assurance and validation by the commissioner, and in this event the commissioner will contact the provider to request further clarification.

(2) Phase 2 would be a competitive process and involve assessment of bids against published evaluation criteria and weightings. A competitive process may be used, for example, in the following scenarios: • if multiple providers express an interest for particular areas • if expressions of interest exceed the available financial envelope • to commission services with a later mobilisation date

This process is being managed by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner(s).

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