NHS England South (South East) - Provision of a Diabetic Eye Screening Programme for Surrey

NHS England seek to commission a Diabetic Eye Screening Programme for the residents of Surrey. The contract will serve a population of around 1 million, of whom 52,000 are eligible individuals over the age of 12 currently identified as diabetics in need of screening.

Estimates suggest that there are a further 8,000 people who may be as yet undiagnosed. Currently about 80% of people invited attend for screening.

The population served by the programme will be those covered by the following 6 CCGs: NHS East Surrey, NHS Guildford and Waverley, NHS North East Hampshire and Farnham (Farnham area only), NHS North West Surrey, NHS Surrey Heath and NHS Surrey Downs. Whilst there are no specific changes to the geographic footprint and population covered by this service anticipated at this point, the provider must be prepared to work with commissioners to implement any such alterations that do arise due to developments during the life of the contract.

A prior information/early engagement notice was published in relation to this procurement in February 2016, seeking expressions of interest. Please note that this previous notice was an information gathering exercise rather than a call for competition in its own right.

Although those who responded to that notice will be advised that this contract notice has been published, there will be no process exemptions or preferential treatment afforded to any parties who expressed an interest at that stage. NHS England will not be liable for costs incurred by any interested party in participating in this process.

Interested parties who wish to take part in the procurement are invited to take part in an Invitation To Tender (ITT) process, based on the Open procedure, and designed to identify the Most Economically Advantageous Tender and therefore determine the incoming provider. Additional details/description is continued in Additional Text below.

Additional information: The procurement will be conducted via the In-Tend portal, and can be accessed via either: - the 'current tenders' list on https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/Home - following this direct link: https://in-tendhost.co.uk/scwcsu/aspx/ProjectManage/195 In order to access the tender documentation, you will need to 'express an interest' and register on the system for full access. Bidders are required to respond to questions directly within In-Tend and attach any requested documents separately to the placeholders provided.

All ITT responses must be returned by 12 Noon on 1st July 2016, at the latest. The Services are healthcare services within the meaning and scope of Annex XIV of Directive 2014/24/EU ("the Directive") and Schedule 3 to the Public Contract Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations").

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. Neither the inclusion of a bidder selection stage, nor the use of any language or terms found in the Directive or Regulations, nor the description of the procedure voluntarily adopted by the Authority ("Open", "Restricted", "Competitive Procedure with Negotiation", "Competitive Dialogue" or any other description), nor any other indication, shall be taken to mean that the Authority intends to hold itself bound by the Directive or Regulations, save by the provisions applicable to services coming within the scope of Annex XIV of the Directive / Schedule 3 of the Regulations.