NHS England & NHS Improvement South (South West) - Procurement for the provision of a Diabetic Eye Screening Programme to Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire (BNSSG)

NHS England and NHS Improvement South West seek to commission a Diabetic Eye Screening Programme to deliver screening to the eligible population of Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. This requirement is due to unforeseen circumstances and notice served on the current service.

The Commissioners seeks bids from suitably qualified and experienced providers (including third sector and social enterprise organisations, private and NHS) to provide the NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme to patients living and registered in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

The contract term will be 3 years with an option to extend for a further 12 months. The contract will commence on 1st April 2020.

The contract will be funded on a tariff basis (The tariff prices are quoted at the agreed 2020/21 prices).

• Routine screening - £32.87 per cycle
• Digital Surveillance - £32.87 per cycle
• SLB - £43.15 per cycle

The estimated value of the initial 3 years is £3,637,570.13 rising to £4,863,983.05 with the addition of the 1 year extension.

This procurement will be based on an open procedure.

Interested providers will be able to view the tender opportunity via the 'current tenders' list the In-Tend website. https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home In order to participate in this procurement providers will need to register on the system, 'express an interest' and submit a response to all questions issued with the tender documentation through the In-Tend system.

The anticipated service commencement date for the Diabetic Eye Screening programmes is from 1st April 2020.

This procurement is being carried out by NHS South, Central & West Commissioning Support Unit (SCWCSU) on behalf of the Commissioners.

Additional information: 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 2 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.