General Dental Services (PDS contract) in Spalding, Lincolnshire - Caretaker

Arden & GEM CSU, on behalf of NHS England Midlands and East (Central Midlands), are undertaking an urgent procurement process to secure a dental caretaker to provide NHS dental services at the Johnson Community Hospital practice premises in Spalding, Lincolnshire. This will be on an interim basis whilst longer term service arrangements are considered. The caretaking contract will be for 12 months with the option to extend for a further 6 months. The contract will be the NHS Personal Dental Services (PDS) Agreement.

The contract will commence on 1st September 2017 and the practice will need to be fully functioning and delivering NHS dental services from 8th September 2017 to minimise the impact on patients requiring access to NHS dental services in the area. During the period 1st September to 8th September 2017 the successful provider will offer telephone advice, signpost patients to urgent care services if required and commence booking in patient appointments.

It is expected that TUPE will apply and the current practice staff will be given the opportunity to TUPE into the new caretaking arrangement.

The premises have three dental surgeries at the practice and one surgery is used by the Lincolnshire Special Care Dentistry Service to run community clinics one day per week (Tuesday). NHS Property Services will arrange a Licence to Occupy the premises for the duration of the contract. The practice address is: Johnson Community Hospital, Spalding Road, Pinchbeck, Spalding, Lincs, PE11 3DT.

Tender documentation is available at https://ardengemcsu.bravosolution.co.uk and the deadline for submission of bids is 2pm on Monday, 14th August.

Additional information: The Contracting Authority intends to use an eTendering system in this procurement exercise. The services described within this notice are being procured in line with the Public Procurement Regulations 2015. Neither the publication of this notice nor the employment of any particular terminology nor any other indication shall be taken to mean that the Contracting Authority intends to hold itself bound by any of the Regulations. Please see published documentation for further details. Suppliers instructions - 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 the 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.