Church Lane Surgery

NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board intends to utilise the Most Suitable Provider Process under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 to identify a provider for the delivery of a General Medical Services (GMS) contract for Church Lane Surgery, Church Lane, New Romney, Kent, TN28 8ER. The service requires uninterrupted provision of essential primary medical services from 1 December 2026.

The estimated annual recurrent baseline value of the service is approximately £1,006,315 per annum. This figure is provided for transparency and planning purposes only and does not represent a fixed annual contract value or a guaranteed level of income.

Actual payments will be determined in accordance with the General Medical Services contract, applicable national payment arrangements and the registered and weighted patient list. The estimated total value of £5,031,575 has been calculated using the current estimated annual recurrent baseline value multiplied by an assumed 5-year period for transparency purposes.

The proposed GMS contract does not have a fixed contract term and the value stated does not represent a guaranteed contract value or contract duration. This exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner.

NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board intends to follow the Most Suitable Provider Process under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 to identify a provider for the delivery of a General Medical Services (GMS) contract for the registered patient population of Church Lane Surgery, Church Lane, New Romney, Kent, TN28 8ER. Primary medical care services are within the scope of the PSR and, where a new provider is being selected, may be arranged through either the Most Suitable Provider Process or the Competitive Process.

The requirement is for the uninterrupted provision of essential primary medical services and all associated clinical, operational, governance, workforce, digital, information governance and patient administration functions necessary to maintain safe, effective and accessible care for the registered population served from Church Lane Surgery, Church Lane, New Romney, Kent, TN28 8ER. The proposed service commencement date is 1 December 2026.

The provider must be capable of assuming full operational responsibility for service delivery from that date, including establishment of all workforce, governance, regulatory, prescribing, digital, clinical and organisational arrangements required for safe and effective delivery from commencement. Services are required to be delivered from the existing Church Lane Surgery premises at Church Lane, New Romney, Kent, TN28 8ER.

The provider must demonstrate the ability to lawfully occupy, operate from and deliver the service safely and effectively from the existing premises from the commencement date, whilst maintaining continuity of primary medical services without interruption to patient care. The provider must be legally eligible to hold and enter into a General Medical Services (GMS) contract in accordance with the applicable primary medical services legislative and contractual framework.

Providers will be required to demonstrate that the proposed contracting entity satisfies the relevant eligibility requirements and has the necessary governance, organisational and operational arrangements in place to deliver NHS primary medical services from the service commencement date. Based on its knowledge of the local primary medical services provider landscape and the requirements of the service, the ICB considers that it is able to identify the most suitable provider without undertaking a competitive process and therefore intends to follow the Most Suitable Provider Process. Due to the requirement to maintain continuity of primary medical services for the registered patient population, the need for operational readiness from 1 December 2026, the requirement to deliver services safely from the existing premises from commencement, and the requirement for the selected provider to be eligible to hold and enter into a GMS contract, the ICB considers that mobilisation readiness, operational capability, workforce resilience, clinical governance arrangements, premises readiness and demonstrable ability to assume responsibility for service delivery within the required timescale are fundamental considerations in identifying the most suitable provider.