NHS England South West - Provision of Mandatory Dental Services in the Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill Dental Planning Area of Bristol

Due to the termination of an NHS contract, NHS England South West (the Commissioner) is seeking to recommission dental services for the delivery of 5,000 Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) per annum in the Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill Dental Planning Area of Bristol. The procurement is being carried out by NHS South, Central & West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.

The purpose of undertaking the procurement is due to the Commissioner receiving notice from the previous provider of the service. In order to maintain accessibility to NHS Dental Services for those patients displaced by the termination, the new Service will be required to be delivered from within the Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill Dental Planning Area of Bristol.

The 5,000 UDAs are expected to provide dental services for approximately 2,200 patients (based on the previous provider's average of 2.3 UDAs per patient).

The UDAs will be offered at a fixed price of £25.00 per UDA. This tariff value is based on the 2019/2020 prices with subsequent years subject to the annual DDRB uplift.

The Commissioner will be contracting for the Services using the standard Personal Dental Services (PDS) Agreement and an appended service specification. The Agreement is offered for a 4 year period with services anticipated to commence on the 1st April 2019*.

It is expected that the successful provider will be able to immediately open their lists to all categories of patients from contract commencement and be prepared to accept the displaced patients of the NHS contract that has terminated.

The successful bidder will also be required to work closely with the NHS England Commissioning Team in order to co-ordinate and promote patient access to achieve the expected level of dental performance.

The service specification works in relation to and not instead of the NHS (General Dental Services /Personal Dental Services Contracts) Regulations 2005.

*The Commissioner anticipates that services would commence from the 1st April 2019, however, if a new practice needs to be set up, or if any substantial refurbishment/building work needs to be undertaken on an existing practice it will be for the Provider to provide a realistic mobilisation plan and inform of the likely service commencement for their proposal should the 1st April 2019 be unachievable. The final mobilisation plan will be agreed between the Commissioner and the successful Provider during the mobilisation period.

Additional information: Interested providers will be able to view the tender opportunity via the 'current tenders' list on the e-procurement system https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home

In order to access the tender documentation and submit a bid, you will need to register on the e-procurement portal and 'express an interest'. Bidders are required to respond to Selection Questionnaire and ITT questions directly within the system and attach any requested documents separately to the placeholders provided.

On registration, please include at least two contacts to allow for access to the portal in times of absence.

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). The contract value of this procurement is under the Light Touch Regime threshold.

The tendering process will be conducted in accordance with the requirements and flexibilities provided by Articles 74 to 76 of the Directive, and Regulations 74 to 76 of the Regulations. The Authority will run a transparent tender process, treating all Bidders equally. For the avoidance of doubt, the Authority will not be bound by the Regulations or the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union or any other regulations or legislation except for the specific parts or circumstances that apply to the procurement of these Services.

Neither the inclusion of a Bidder selection stage, nor the use of any language or terms found in the Directive or Regulations, nor the description of the procedure voluntarily adopted by the Authority ("Open", "Restricted", "Competitive Procedure with Negotiation", "Competitive Dialogue" or any other description), nor any other indication, shall be taken to mean that the Authority intends to hold itself bound by the Directive or Regulations, save by the provisions applicable to services coming within the scope of Annex XIV of the Directive / Schedule 3 of the Regulations.

The Contracting Authority intends to voluntarily observe the award decision notices provisions and 10 day standstill period described in Regulation 86 of the Regulations. Unsuccessful Bidders will receive scores and reasons for the decision, including the characteristics and relative advantages of the winning bid and the reasons why the Bidder/application was unsuccessful. Deadline for lodging of appeals should be in accordance with Regulation 87 and Regulation 91 of the Regulations.