NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) NHS Medical Contact Lens Service for Worcestershire

The justification for the urgent award is rpvided at Section II.2.4. The NHS medical contact lens service supports patients with complex corneal conditions who require specialist contact lenses to maintain vision and daily functioning, following referral from hospital ophthalmology services.

This is a specialist service, including assessment, fitting, supply, and ongoing review of specialist contact lenses following referral. The Herefordshire and Worcestershire medical contact lens service has been, to date, delivered by a single provider, BBR OPTOMETRY LIMITED in Hereford.

This provider has recently stated that it has become unable to continue to provide the service in Worcestershire due to capacity constraints. Interim arrangements were agreed with BBR OPTOMETRY LIMITED to continue seeing Worcestershire patients until 1st June 2026.

This did not allow sufficient time to complete a full competitive procurement process in order to mobilise alternative provision. NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) considered that an urgent contract award was necessary to ensure continuity of an essential clinical service and to avoid a gap in service provision for Worcestershire patients.

This decision was made by the ICB in the best interest of the people who use the service (pursuant to PSR Regulation 4). An urgent award was required, pursuant to Regulation 14 of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) to ensure continuity of a clinically essential service in Worcestershire.

The incumbent provider confirmed it was unable to continue Worcestershire activity from 1st June 2026 due to capacity constraints. This position and the scale and immediacy of the impact on Worcestershire service provision was not reasonably foreseeable by the ICB.

No alternative commissioned provision is currently in place. Any gap in this service provision would present a significant risk to patient safety and outcomes.

A full competitive procurement process under PSR, including mobilisation, could not be completed within the available timeframe. Therefore, the ICB was of the view that an urgent award was necessary and proportionate to mitigate risks to patient care and to maintain continuity of the NHS Medical Contact Lens Service for Worcestershire.

Expressions of interest were sought from Worcestershire optometrists, with a number indicating capability to deliver the service with appropriate training and support. Several providers were small independent practices.

A network provider model was identified to support streamlined contract management, governance and coordination and to enable sustainable delivery.The interested practices were appropriately qualified and able to deliver the service safely with support from the incumbent provider. PRIMARY EVECARE SERVICES LIMITED (PES) was identified as the most appropriate organisation to act as lead provider due to the following: • PES has an established role in coordinating community optometry services, including delivery of other commissioned services as a network provider in the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. • PES has existing subcontracting arrangements with the identified Worcestershire providers, enabling rapid and low-risk mobilisation. • No alternative providers were able to mobilise within the required timeframe without risking a gap in service provision.

While the PSR key criteria are not formally applied as part of a PSR urgent award, PES has recently undergone an assessment by the ICB as part of other commissioning processes, including the assessment of equality, data protection, and organisational governance arrangements, providing assurance to the ICB of its capability. PES has an established role in coordinating community optometry services and is able to subcontract to identified local providers.

The existing arrangements enable rapid and low-risk mobilisation. PES has demonstrated appropriate governance and organisational capability through other recent commissioning activity with the ICB.

No alternative providers are able to mobilise within the required timeframe without risking a gap in service. The contract length with PES will be no longer than 12 months (in accordance with PSR Regulation 14).

A full competitive procurement process is expected to commence within 3 - 6 months of the interim contract period to ensure a substantive contract is in place prior to expiry. The urgent contract commenced on 1st June 2026 and is expected to expire on 31st May 2027.

The total contract value is £80,000 for the 12-month period. Payment will be on a cost-per-case basis, with tariffs of £237 per fitting and £125 per review. Activity and spend will vary in line with demand.