NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme London Region

Description

NHS England (London Region) (hereafter referred to as "the Authority") is seeking to re-commission 5 Diabetic Eye Screening Programmes (DESP) to deliver screening to the eligible populations of North West London (Lot 1), North Central London (Lot 2), North East London (Lot 3), South East London (Lot 4), and South West London (Lot 5).
The eligible population includes patients over the age of 12 diagnosed with diabetes registered with, or eligible to be registered with, a GP in the lot area as well as individuals within prisons, secure units and the armed forces.
The aim of the DESP 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.
This will be achieved by delivering an evidence-based service that:
•Identifies the eligible population and ensures effective delivery with maximum coverage.
•Is safe, effective, high quality, externally and independently monitored, and quality assured.
•Leads to earlier detection, appropriate referral, effective treatment and improved outcomes.
•Is delivered and supported by suitably trained, competent and qualified clinical and non-clinical staff who, where relevant, participate in recognised ongoing continuing medical education, continuous professional development and quality assurance schemes.
•Has audit embedded in the service.
•Works effectively with other stakeholders to ensure the care pathway is smooth and efficient.
There are 3 key elements of service delivery, namely:
•Call/recall for all people with diabetes invited for routine digital screening; this is currently undertaken on an annual basis, but screening intervals are likely to extend to 2 years for people at low risk during the contract term, in line with national guidance.
•Digital surveillance where individuals need more frequent screening.
•Slit lamp bio-microscopy (SLB) for those individuals where normal photography is inappropriate (e.g. those having cataracts). 
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) does not form part of this Contract at this time, though this position may change over the life of the contract in line with national guidance. 
The Contract term will be 5 years, with an option to extend for a further 2 years at the sole discretion of the Commissioner. The Contracts are due to commence on 01/07/2024.
The 7-year estimated contract values, based on predicted activity levels, are:
Lot 1 = £33,703,069, Lot 2 = £18,930,476, Lot 3 = £28,062,012, Lot 4 = £21,533,552, Lot 5 = £18,120,336 

Please note, the full indicative contract values per each financial year can be found in the tender documentation.

Additional information: NHS England proposes an activity-based financial model with the following tariffs: 
•	Routine digital screening (RS001) - £39.10 per screen.
•	Slit lamp bio-microscopy (SLB003) - £48.29 per screen.
•	Digital surveillance (DS002) - £39.10 per screen.
•	Prisons screening (PS004) - £78.21 per screen.
•	Forensics screening (FS005) - £58.65 per screen.
The Commissioner's ambition through the financial model is to encourage uptake of DESP to achieve or exceed the national achievable target of 85% uptake in routine screening (DE1).
The Services will be commissioned using the NHS DESP National Service Specification 23-24, localised where appropriate.
National changes to screening frequency for low-risk individuals are expected to be implemented during the contract term which will have an impact on activity. The subsequent impact on contract values will be agreed between the Provider and the Commissioner via contract variation. Activity projections used in this procurement do not account for these future changes as further clarity around timeline and implementation guidance is expected in the future. Further information is provided in the tender documentation.
Interested providers may bid for one, multiple or all lots. However, if successful across multiple lots following evaluation, bidders will be awarded no more than two lots.
The Procurement is being managed by the NHS London Commercial Hub (NHS LCH) hosted by NEL ICB, on behalf of the Authority, in connection with a competitive Invitation to Tender (ITT) exercise that is being conducted via a process, based in part on the open procedure under the Public Contract Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations" (as amended)). 
The Service falls within the scope of the Light Touch Regime (LTR) - Section 7 (Reg 74-76) of the Regulations governing procurement of Health, Social and related services listed under Schedule 3 of the Regulations. None of the references to "Open procedure", "ITT", the use of the term "tender process", or any other indication shall be taken to mean that the Authority intends to hold itself bound to any of the Regulations, save those applicable to LTR provisions.
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.
The Contracting Authority intends to voluntarily observe the award decision notices provisions and 10-day standstill period described in Regulation 86 of the Regulations.