Direct Access X-Ray Service

Description

This is a Contract Award Notice to communicate a contract award made by the Contracting Authority; Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board, (hereinafter referred to as "the Authority") in compliance with their local standing financial instructions (SFIs).

On 29th December 2023, the Authority published a Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT) (Reference 2023/S 000-038036) to inform the market of its intention to award the contract. The Authority applied a voluntary 10-day standstill period prior to conclusion of the contract. The contract award is made to Alliance Medical Limited for the provision of Direct Access X-Ray services.

The proposed new contract will start on 1st April 2024 and will end on 31st March 2025 with the option to extend for a further 12 months to 31st March 2026. The annual value of the contract is £282,463.  Please note that these are expected values and may be amended post contract finalisation with the provider.

The contract has been in place since 11th June 2018 and has a total cumulative value of £1,098,430 (excluding VAT and exclusive of the value of the new proposed contract).

This short-term contract will allow the HWE ICB to undertake a robust review of the services with a view of alignment across the ICB to inform future service provision.

Provision of GP referred x-ray services. Service is available from 09:00-18:00, seven days a week. GP's can refer patients for x-ray on long term issues. The x-rays are reviewed and the report will be returned for the GP to manage the patient or support onward referral to a specialist unit. The x-ray service works in conjunction with the Minor Injuries Services, providing x-rays, review and reports for their patients also.

Additional information: 
The NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (HWE ICB) was incorporated on 1st July 2022 and replaced the three clinical commissioning groups which were operating across the HWE area. Since the incorporation of the HWE ICB, there has been a significant level of work to understand services available within each 'place' and how they should be provided across the broader system to ensure equity of services for patients.

This new short-term contract will enable the HWE ICB work to understand how best to align these services across the ICB which will inform future commissioning intentions for this service which ensuring continuity of care for our patients. To procure services at this stage may risk implementing a service which doesn't adequately meet health needs of patients and may not deliver the best value for money service.