Expressions of Interest for the Provision of General Dental Services for NHS England (Central Midlands)

NHS Arden & Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (NHS Arden & GEM CSU) on behalf of NHS England (Central Midlands) would like to notify you of an opportunity to provide General Dental Services.

Expressions of interest are sought from providers for the following intended Lots:- • Lot 1 - Leicester extended - Extended Access • Lot 2 - Melton Mowbray - Extended Access • Lot 3 - Mablethorpe - (premises to be confirmed) - Extended Access • Lot 4 - Boston - Extended Access • Lot 5 - Spalding - (premises to be confirmed) - Extended Access • Lot 6 - Spalding - 8 to 8 • Lot 7 - Louth - Extended Access • Lot 8 - Skegness/Spilsby - Extended Access

Bidders will be able to bid for more than one Lot. The contract term will be for a period of seven years with the option to extend for a further 3 years. NHS England approval for an extended contracting term is being sought for two of the 8 lots to align to existing approval obtained for a contracting term of 7 years with the option to extend for a further 3 years for the other 6 lots.

Potential Bidders are invited to attend a market engagement event which will be scheduled for an afternoon either in late March/early April in Lincoln. Registration for the event closes at 12 pm (noon) on 22 March 2019 and further details regarding the date and venue will be confirmed by the end of February 2019 to those who have expressed an interest. Places are strictly limited therefore reservations are limited to no more than 2 persons per organisation.

The Market Engagement Event will; • Give an overview of the services to be provided • Provide details of the contract type, length and particular conditions • Explain the procurement process and the anticipated timeline. Please note that this expression of interest has been designed to allow the market visibility of the proposed opportunity and support early engagement.

The aim of the expression of interest exercise is to; 1. Support the Commissioners informed decision making on the potential options on the future commissioning of these services; 2. To help refine the commissioning and procurement approach and; 3. To gauge the level of interest from the market of capable providers with capacity to deliver the services illustrated above.

This is a market testing exercise and does not commit the Commissioners to carry out a procurement process. Current services will remain in place during this period in line with existing contracts and service level agreements.

Please note the deadline for responses is by 12pm (noon) on 22 March 2019.

Any subsequent procurement will be advertised separately and all organisations wanting to participate will need to respond to the procurement advertisement as and when published.

Additional information: If you wish to express an interest and register for the Market Engagement Event please register on the EU Supply website https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=UK. The tender ID No. is 34600.

Once registered please complete the questions which ask providers to give details about their organisation's name and postal address, email address, contact name and number. Your response should also include capability and previous experience of delivering this or a similar level of service.

Please note the deadline for responses is by 12pm (noon) on 22 March 2019.