Procurement for the provision of a Diabetic Eye Screening Programme for Kent & Medway

NHS England South East (Kent, Surrey, Sussex) sought to re-procure the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (DESP) in Kent and Medway. The Commissioner will be contracting for the services using the National NHS Standard Contract.

The contract will be for a term of 5 years and is due to commence on 11th October 2019. Payment will be made on a tariff basis and the anticipated total value of the contract, based on achievable KPI uptake (85%), is £12,465,083.

The Commissioners sought tender responses from providers who have the capability and capacity to undertake such a contract. This procurement was carried out by NHS South, Central & West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.

The contract will serve a population of around 1.8 million, of whom c. 100,729 are eligible (being individuals over the age of 12 currently identified as diabetics in need of screening). National DESP Guidance estimates a potential 4% growth per annum in the number of people diagnosed with diabetes and approximately 2% of the population in Kent and Medway who may be as yet undiagnosed.

Interested parties were 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. The deadline for receipt of tender submissions was no later than 12 noon on 7th December 2018.

Additional information: A prior information/early engagement notice was published in relation to this procurement in July 2018, 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 were advised that this contract notice has been published, there were no process exemptions or preferential treatment afforded to any parties who expressed an interest at that stage. The services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations") which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but is instead governed by the "Light Touch Regime" contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77).

The tendering process was 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 ran 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.

The Contracting Authority voluntarily observed the award decision notices provisions and 10 day standstill period described in Regulation 86 of the Regulations. Unsuccessful Bidders received scores and reasons for the decision, including the characteristics and relative advantages of the winning bid and the reasons why the Bidder/application was unsuccessful. Deadline for lodging of appeals should be in accordance with Regulation 87 and Regulation 91 of the Regulations.