Central Dental Referral Management Service (CDRMS)

NHS England - Lancashire and Greater Manchester (the Contracting Authority)has commissioned a Central Dental Referral Management Service (CDRMS) to cover the whole of Greater Manchester (GM). Initially, this service is required to provide a robust CDRMS to facilitate the appropriate allocation of cases referred for specialist dental care to the most appropriate service.

The CDRMS for GM will be a component part of pathway management, to ensure that pathways are adhered to and providers manage the available pathways appropriately and in their entirety. The requirement is for the successful service provider to manage referrals received from all primary dental care providers across the GM cluster. All referrals for specialist care from NHS and private primary care dentists practising within the NHS GM boundaries will be directed for processing and management by the successful service provider.

The CDRMS will serve to provide 2 main functions. There will be an outward-facing service with a central hub to receive, process and (where specified) triage dental referrals for all dental specialities, ensuring referrals are received by the most appropriate clinical service providers across GM.

Data generated by the service will have several functions relating to pathways management, commissioning plans, as well as for education and development purposes. Analysis and reporting will therefore be a key component of the service.

Further to this, there will be a significant ...ce is to commence on 01.12.2015 for a period of 3 years with the option to extend the contract by a further 1 x 24 month period subject to satisfactory contractual performance and at the discretion of the Contracting Authority.

There is an opportunity within the scope of this service for a potential 50 % service expansion in contract value across a larger geographical footprint in the future, specifically the area covered by Lancashire.

The potential service expansion is not a guaranteed development, and the decision to proceed with the service expansion will be made by the Contracting Authority and negotiated with the successful provider at any point within the timeframe of the contract.

In terms of the estimated potential additional activity for Lancashire, the Contracting Authority has estimated 37 000 referrals per year (total) and an approximate budget of 250 000 GBP per year (total). These figures are approximate and are not a guarantee. The breakdown is approximately 50 % to that of Greater Manchester figures and therefore will be proportionate by specialty by proxy.

It is anticipated that the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 as amended by the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment)Regulations 2014 (TUPE) may apply for this contract. Tenderers are advised to form their own view on whether TUPE applies, obtaining their own legal advice and carrying out due diligence.