Procurement for the provision of the Oxfordshire Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP)

NHS England South East (the Commissioners) seeks to re-procure a Diabetic Eye Screening service for the population of Oxfordshire. NHS England South East will be the contracting and commissioning authority for the Diabetic Eye Screening programme.

The aim of the Diabetic Eye Screening programme is to reduce the risk of sight loss amongst people with diabetes by the prompt identification and effective treatment if necessary of sight threatening diabetic retinopathy, at the appropriate stage during the disease process. This will be achieved by delivering evidence-based, population-based screening programmes that: • identify the eligible population and ensure effective delivery with maximum coverage • are safe, effective, of a high quality, externally and independently monitored, and quality assured • lead to earlier detection, appropriate referral, effective treatment and improved outcomes • are delivered and supported by suitably trained, competent, and qualified, clinical and non-clinical staff who, where relevant, participate in recognised on-going Continuous Professional Development (CPD), and Quality Assurance (QA) schemes • have audit embedded in the service

The local specification for Oxfordshire is consistent with the national service specification which ensures there is a consistent and equitable approach to govern the provision and monitoring of NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programmes (NDESP) across England. The purpose of the service specification for the NDESP is to outline the service and quality indicators expected by NHS England (the Commissioner) for their responsible population.

The provider will be required to deliver a service that incorporates the common pathway and meets the national service specification requirements. NDESP is currently in a development phase relating to the implementation of extended screening intervals and a single national IT solution. For 2018-2019, the national service specification reflects initial requirements to implement this development in 2019-2020.The provider will need to be adaptable to any new or changes to the national programme.

The current published national service specification for can be found here:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/service-spec-22.pdf.

The contract is due to commence on 1st April 2019 and run for four years, with the option to extend for a further one year, at the Commissioners' discretion.

The minimum expected total value of the contract, based on achieving minimum KPI uptake levels, is £3,249,423.

Interested parties who wish to take part in the procurement are invited to take part in an Invitation To Tender (ITT) process, based on the Open procedure and designed to identify the Most Economically Advantageous Tender and therefore determine the incoming provider. Instructions for taking part can be found below.

All ITT responses must be returned by 12 noon on 20th July 2018, at the latest.

Additional information: A prior information/early engagement notice was published in relation to this procurement in April 2017, seeking expressions of interest. Please note that this previous notice was an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right. Although those who responded to that notice will be advised that this contract notice has been published, there will be no process exemptions or preferential treatment afforded to any parties who expressed an interest at that stage

Interested providers will be able to access the Invitation to Tender documents via the 'current tenders' list on the e-procurement portal (In-tend). https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home

In order to submit a bid, you will need to register on the e-procurement portal and 'express an interest' and then complete all necessary questions as specified within the documents

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 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.