Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI) Service

North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) working for and on behalf of NHS England and NHS Improvement North West Region (the Contracting Authority) proposes to engage with the wider market to inform future service model development and/or commissioning intentions for the provision of an Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation (ACI) Service It is likely this service will be contracted for 2 years with the option to extend for a further one year. The total estimated budget for this service over this period is approximately £1,367,322 this is based on the estimated 22 patients per annum who will be eligible for this type of procedure. This service will be paid on a tariff-based payment model. The objectives of the service are to provide an ACI Service for treating symptomatic Articular Cartilage Defects of the knee for patients within the North West. The Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation procedure is not yet commissioned in the North West. The provision of this procedure and its intrinsic service alongside adjacent Specialist Orthopaedic Services Centre services would provide the ability to more comprehensive approaches to patient welfare. If your organisation would like to register an interest in responding to this market engagement exercise please go to the Intend portal: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/nhsnecsu/aspx/Home North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is utilising an electronic tendering tool (In-Tend) to manage this market engagement exercise and communicate with potential bidders in accordance with Regulation 22 of the Public Contract Regulations 2015 (SI 2015 No 102) (as amended). It is free to register on In-Tend, which can be accessed at any time of day providing you have a working internet connection. Should bidders have any queries, or are having problems registering; they should contact the In-Tend helpdesk via: [email protected] or call us on 0845 557 8079 / +44 (0) 114 407 0065. The helpdesk is open Monday - Friday between 9am - 5.30pm. Please note that the deadline for RFI responses is 12.00 noon on 29/07/2021 Please note that all communications and RFI submissions will be conducted via the In-Tend portal. It is important to note that this Prior Information Notice is not a call for competition and as such potential providers will need to express an interest in any future tender opportunity once a contract notice is published in Find a Tender and on Contracts Finder. This PIN invites individuals and organisations to express an interest in this exercise only, and it is NOT a pre-qualification questionnaire, and is NOT part of any pre-qualification or selection process. This PIN is intended as an awareness, communication, and information gathering exercise. An expression of interest is no indication of any future commitment to participate in any future activity related to this service nor does it infer any preferential or special status on those individuals and organisations who express an interest in the exercise.