Official UK procurement notice
Community Dental Services (CDS), which covers; Special Care & Paediatric Dentistry (SCPD) including access to General Anaesthesia to NHS East Kent, a Kent and Medway domiciliary Service, Sussex and Kent and Medway Helpdesk and Periodontic service for East Kent
Authority: NHS South Central and West CSU (NHS & healthcare)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought4 lots · detail below
Published requirement descriptionThis is an intention to award notice.
SCPD services are available for children and adults with additional needs who are unable to have treatment at a general dental practice. It is a referral-only service, providing a range of dental treatments for children and adults with additional needs, including physical or learning disabilities, or where they have a need for additional support to receive treatment. Home visits are also provided for patients who are housebound. People are usually referred in via their dentist or doctor.
NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) intends to award contracts to 2 existing providers following Direct Award Process C of the UK Health Care Services (PSR) Regulations 2023 for SCPD services in the Kent and Medway area. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. The publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period.
The existing SCPD contracts have previously been contracted under the Standard Clauses For A Personal Dental Services (PDS) Agreement and include the provision of general anaesthetic (GA) services. As the provision of services under GA is excluded under clause 73 of the PDS contract, SCPD GA services will instead be contracted for separately under NHS standard contracts.
Read the full description (1,357 more characters)
The terms of the existing SCPD contracts are due to expire on 31st March 2026 and NHS Kent and Medway ICB have proposed that new SCPD and SCPD GA contracts should replace the existing contracts at the end of their term. All requirements outlined in Regulation 6(5) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 have been met, including that the considerable change threshold has not been met, and therefore Direct Award Process C has been determined as the appropriate provider selection process.
After conducting assessments of the existing providers, taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria, NHS Kent and Medway ICB is content that the existing providers are satisfying the original contracts and will likely satisfy the proposed contracts to a sufficient standard.
The awarded contract will be for a term of 36 months and are due to commence from 1st April 2026, terminating 31st March 2029. The total maximum contract value of these contracts is £32,281,338.
There are 4 contracts being awarded to 2 providers as follows:-
1. SCPD for East Kent - Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT)
2. SCPD GA for East Kent - Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT)
3. SCPD for Medway and West Kent - Medway Community Health (MCH)
4. SCPD GA for Medway and West Kent - Medway Community Health (MCH)
CPV: Dental-practice services
Lots and requirements (4)Procurement structure
4 lots · no lot values published · same evaluation weights on every lotLot #1SCPD for East KentAwarded
Lot #2SCPD GA for East KentAwarded
Lot #3SCPD for Medway and West KentAwarded
Lot #4SCPD GA for Medway and West KentAwarded
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Direct award — no call for competition
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- No (one-off requirement)
- First published
- 15 Sept 2026, 17:53 BST
- Last source update
- 15 Sept 2026, 17:53 BST
- Authority reference
WA18294(ii)- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060d58
- Why no open competition
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the directive
- Published justification
This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to 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 publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to the more…
relevant authority by 5th February 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.
Publisher note: The decision to award the contract was made by NHS Kent and Medway ICB in line with the ICB's Standing Financial Instructions. No conflicts of interest (COI) were declared as part of this award process. COI are managed via a combination of the NHS Kent and Medway ICB COI policy and the NHS England South East Commissioning Hub (Workstream 2) COI process. This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) contract modification notice. This contract has been modified under the urgent circumstances provision of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and The Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this award. This contract has now been formally modified.
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics — not a forecast| Lot | Awarded to | Value | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · SCPD for East Kent | Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) | — | — | Awarded |
| 2 · SCPD GA for East Kent | Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) | — | — | Awarded |
| 3 · SCPD for Medway and West Kent | Medway Community Health (MCH) | — | — | Awarded |
| 4 · SCPD GA for Medway and West Kent | Medway Community Health (MCH) | — | — | Awarded |
| 1 · SCPD for East Kent | Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) | — | — | Awarded |
Contracts
Contract 087515-2026-WA18294(ii)-1 · Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT)
- Signed
- 1 Sept 2026
- Value
- £19,397,686
- Period
- … — 31 Mar 2029
- Status
- active
- Change This modification was made in what the relevant authority considered to be urgent circumstances to ensure the continued and equitable provision of specialist periodontic services across Kent and Medway. The contract is being amended to expand the delivery of specialist periodontic services across the whole of the Kent and Medway area. The existing service is currently delivered only within the eastern part of the county; this modification extends service coverage to all localities, improving patient access, supporting equity of provision, reducing patient travel requirements and ensuring consistent availability of specialist periodontic care across the region. The modification increases the lifetime value of the contract by £883,164 to accommodate the additional activity and service coverage required. No change is being made to the scope of services beyond the geographical expansion described above. The modification will take effect from 1st September 2026. The contract term will remain unchanged. — Need for additional works, services or supplies by the original contractor/concessionaire: The modification was required to address an immediate need to expand access to specialist periodontic services across Kent and Medway. At the time the requirement was identified, specialist periodontic services under the existing contract were being delivered solely within the eastern part of the county, resulting in inequitable access for patients residing in other areas of Kent and Medway. The relevant authority considered the circumstances to be urgent as a delay in implementing the additional service capacity would have continued to restrict patient access to specialist care, potentially increasing waiting times, exacerbating health inequalities, and requiring patients to travel significant distances to access treatment. Immediate action was therefore necessary to ensure continuity of service and equitable access to specialist periodontic services across the whole Kent and Medway population. A change of contractor was not considered feasible within the timescales required to address the urgent need. The existing contractor already possessed the necessary clinical workforce, infrastructure, referral pathways, and integration with local dental service networks to mobilise the additional activity rapidly and safely. Procuring an alternative provider would have resulted in significant delays associated with procurement, mobilisation, clinical governance arrangements, workforce recruitment, and the establishment of referral and operational processes. Furthermore, the appointment of an alternative contractor would have resulted in duplication of mobilisation and implementation costs, while increasing the risk of disruption to patient pathways and continuity of care. The modification therefore represented the most efficient and proportionate means of meeting the urgent service requirement whilst maintaining service continuity, patient safety, and value for money. The modification expands the geographical scope of the existing service to cover the whole of Kent and Medway and increases the contract value by £883,164. The modification takes effect from 1st September 2026 and does not change the contract term.
Contract 006198-2026-1 · Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT)
- Signed
- 4 Dec 2025
- Value
- £18,514,522
- Status
- active
Contract 006198-2026-2 · Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT)
- Signed
- 4 Dec 2025
- Value
- £1,445,813
- Status
- active
Contract 006198-2026-3 · Medway Community Health (MCH)
- Signed
- 4 Dec 2025
- Value
- £8,548,049
- Status
- active
Contract 006198-2026-4 · Medway Community Health (MCH)
- Signed
- 4 Dec 2025
- Value
- £3,772,954
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Lot | Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 · SCPD for East Kent | 1bids | — | — | — |
| 2 · SCPD GA for East Kent | 1bids | — | — | — |
| 3 · SCPD for Medway and West Kent | 1bids | — | — | — |
| 4 · SCPD GA for Medway and West Kent | 1bids | — | — | — |
Notice history
3 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 18 Feb 2026- Buyer details updated15 Sept 2026, 17:53 BST
- Status changed18 Feb 2026, 17:04 GMT
- Procurement method changed18 Feb 2026, 17:04 GMT
Published amendments (1)
The date of contract award was 4th December 2025, following conclusion of the standstill period after publishing the intention to award notice. There are 4 contracts being awarded to 2 providers as follows:- 1. SCPD for East Kent - Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT). Total maximum value of the contract is £18,514,522. 2. SCPD GA for East Kent - Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT).…
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board (ICB) on behalf of NHS EnglandContracting authorityBody governed by public lawHealthView profile →
Dispute resolution & review bodies
- NHS EnglandReview bodyView profile →
Bidders & participating suppliers
2 commercial parties on the notice- Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT)Awarded supplierView supplier profile →
- Medway Community Health (MCH)Awarded supplierView supplier profile →
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.