Dental Electronic Referral Service for NHS England South West

Description

The Commissioners wished to seek a single provider to deliver DERS across the South West. The Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework RM6259 Vertical Application Solutions - Lot 2 'Education, Community Health and Social Care Solutions' was used to run a "further competition". A total of thirty-one providers are approved on the CCS framework agreement for Lot 2 and were contacted prior to the further competition ITT being published.

DERS SW will result in the current paper processes ending and being replaced by an end-to-end digital referral solution, providing a uniform service across the region. The digital system will negate the need for much of the administrative triage currently done within the region and will cover all specialisms.
DERS SW will:
•	Provide assurance that referrals are made in accordance with national standards and criteria in a timely appropriate manner. 
•	Provide clinicians with a single mechanism to refer patients that require specialist and specialised NHS dental services.
•	Improve the quality of referrals in order to support effective triage.
•	Enable patients to access care that is most suited to their needs.
•	Improve the efficiency of the referral process.
•	Provide accurate referral information to support clinical service evaluation and development.
•	Achieve value for money.

Geography covered:
Bath, Swindon & Wiltshire
Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire
Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly)
Devon
Dorset
Gloucestershire
Somerset

Contract start date: 17/11/2025
Contract award date: 06/11/2025
Contract term: 3 years with an extension option for any period up to a further 2 years
Contract value (initial 3 year term): £1,407,131
Contract value (inclusive of 2 x extension years): £2,177,767

Following notification of the outcome of the procurement, the contracting authority observed a voluntary 10 day standstill period prior to awarding the contract.

This procurement has been carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.

Additional information: The services are deemed to be subject to the full regime of procurement legislation and as such this tender was conducted in accordance with, and governed by, the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.