NHS England & NHS Improvement (South East) Translation and Interpretation Services for Dentistry, Pharmacy and Optometry

This notice is placed in order to facilitate early engagement with potential providers, and relates only to a provider sounding questionnaire.

NHS England and NHS Improvement South East (the Commissioner) is seeking feedback through the attached provider sounding questionnaire to determine the level of interest in the provision of Translation and Interpretation Services for Dentistry, Pharmacy and Optometry in the following areas: - Kent & Medway - Surrey Heartlands - Sussex - Frimley - Berkshire West, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire (BOB) - Hampshire & Isle of Wight

The Commissioner is committed to equality of access for patients whose first language is not English and with sensory communication needs. This means they should receive the support and information they need to access services, communicate with staff and make informed decisions about their care and treatment. This extends to people who are deaf or deaf/blind and who might use British (or another form of) Sign Language.

Specific objectives are to:

1. Maintain continuity of service provision to eligible groups and existing patients of the current interpreter and translation services. 2. Improve equity of access to primary care medical services for patients. 3. Ensure clear communications and engagement with all stakeholders, including patients, regarding proposed changes to services in the South East, 4. Achieve a cost-effective, sustainable, quality service which is accessible to all eligible groups to enable them to access the full range of primary care services.

The range of translation and interpretation services include: • Telephone interpreting for patients whose first language is not English • Occasional face-to-face interpreting for patients whose first language is not English and for whom telephone interpreting would not be appropriate • Video BSL interpreting • Face-to-face BSL interpreting • Written translation of clinical documents

We would welcome feedback from those organisations or individuals who are interested in these services, and may be interested in bidding for these either in their own right or as a subcontractor, if they were to be procured. If you are interested, please complete the provider sounding questionnaire attached to this notice and return to the NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit procurement mailbox at: [email protected] . Please return by 12 noon on 30th October 20202020.

Additional information: This notice is an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right, and therefore publication or response does not commit NHS England and NHS Improvement or respondents to a future procurement or to any award of contracts, nor provide any process exemptions or preferential treatment to any parties expressing an interest. NHS England and NHS Improvement will not be liable for costs incurred by any interested party in participating in this exercise.

This early engagement exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner.

The services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations") which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but is instead governed by the "Light Touch Regime" contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77).