CHEC - Cataract Accreditation

NHS Frimley ICB commissions Cataract surgery services to ensure that supply meets the demands of our ageing population, that Service Users can choose a provider that most suits their individual needs, that quality and safety are central to provision and that the service does not adversely impact the ability to deliver local comprehensive ophthalmology services.

The Provider will:

i. Deliver high quality and value for money cataract services that reflect the best practice guidance set out by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Getting it Right First Time and the NHSE National Eye Care Recovery and Transformation Programme (NECRTP) and NICE.

ii. Maintain capacity to support the overall commissioned activity of the ICS, thus ensuring delivery of the national 18-week referral to treatment (RTT) cataract pathway and reduction in waiting list backlogs.

iii. Maintain access to cataract services in accessible hospital and community settings, that provides care closer to home, improves choice, delivers greater consistency and equity in access to services across the localities.

The key objectives of the service are:

iv. To ensure the provision of safe and effective cataract service provision to NHS patients

v. To free up outpatient and primary eye care capacity for patients at higher risk of sight loss

vi. To ensure the delivery of training for the next generation of consultant ophthalmologists through equitable delivery of training to NHS trainees in all providers of NHS cataract surgery

vii. To ensure Service Users with urgent post-surgery issues and complications can be advised and managed by the Provider's own surgical ophthalmic team with any requirement and resource for other providers to support this clearly agreed.

viii. To achieve, and drive improvements in, the NECRTP high flow cataract pathway.

The Commissioner is directly awarding, following direct award process B, a contract to Community Health and Eyecare Ltd in accordance with the criteria outlined in Regulation (9) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award.

The initial contract term is 3 years with an optional extension of up to 1 year. The three-year contract period will commence on the 22nd January 2025.

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