East of England Gender Dysphoria Service for Adults (non-surgical)

This is an Intended Approach Notice to award contracts using the Most Suitable Provider (MSP) Process for the delivery of non-surgical interventions for individuals on the NHS pathway of care for the treatment of gender dysphoria within the East of England region. <br/><br/>The aim of the MSP is to identify one most suitable provider that can deliver the provision of an adult gender dysphoria service, covering the population in the East of England region, in line with the NHS England service specification: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/service-specification-gender-identity-services-for-adults-non-surgical-interventions/]. <br/><br/>The successful provider will utilise a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, and the service will be delivered from a primary care setting in the East of England region. The service will provide assessment of individuals for the purpose of diagnosis and will provide (or arrange access to) healthcare interventions for those who receive a diagnosis of gender dysphoria as described in the service specification. <br/>The Commissioner has funded a pilot service in the East of England Region since 2021, and the contract for that pilot ends on 31 March 2026. The Commissioner’s learning from the evaluation of the pilot has informed the future delivery model for the proposed service.<br/><br/>The contract for the service is expected to be operational, providing services from 1 April 2026. It is anticipated that the contract term will be 5 years with an option to extend for a further 2 years (at commissioner discretion). The maximum value of this service is £2,100,000 in any financial year.<br/><br/>It is expected that this contract will be managed on an open book basis, meaning that the provider will share detailed financial information with the Commissioner for the duration of the contract.<br/><br/>Exact activity levels for the contract will be determined by the commissioner during the procurement process. However, for planning purposes, providers are expected to have capacity to receive approximately 400 new referrals per year, and to deliver at least 1,500 first assessments per year, as well as at least one – but possibly multiple – correlating follow up appointments. <br/>Providers are also expected to ensure that waiting lists are reduced to manageable levels over the lifetime of the contract, and waiting list reduction targets will be set through the procurement process.<br/><br/>The service will have the following objectives: <br/>• provide a high-quality, timely and sustainable service for adults who are registered with a GP in the East of England region and who have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria <br/>• provide a service and pathway delivered in line with the requirements of the national service specification for adult gender services <br/>The successful bidder will be required to establish a clinical team, with a named clinical lead, in a central hub that is staffed by clinicians who are experienced in gender care, with formal arrangements in place for transfer to other services for potential interventions that are not directly provided by the service (for example, endocrinology) and to other Gender Dysphoria Clinics for more complex cases (for example, individuals with a forensic history).<br/><br/>Please note the service specification will change during the life of the contract, and providers will be expected to deliver the new specification.<br/><br/>If you believe your organisation can provide the full set of requirements, please register on the e-Tendering portal at https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome against project reference C398879 to access the MSP documentation and submit your response. The deadline for submitting completed Expression of Interest Questionnaires and Declarations is 12pm, midday, on 24th November 2025. <br/><br/>It is anticipated that provider assessments will be completed between November and December 2025.<br/><br/>This provider selection process will be undertaken in line with The Healthcare Provider Selection Regime (PSR). Additional information: Interested providers should note that a key feature of the delivery model is the placement of several (~6 at ~0.3WTE) medical professionals with a specialist interest in gender (such as GPs or General Endocrinologists supervised by an Adult Gender Service clinician) across the region. These professionals will work to a central service hub and be directly employed by the commissioned provider. They would provide support to their local primary care system in the shared care of patients who are under the care of – or discharged from – the specialised gender service. By involving primary care providers in the long-term management of stabilised patients, the model aims to improve the awareness and understanding of gender care within general practice, reduce unnecessary delays in the provision of medical treatments to individuals and free up clinical time in the commissioned specialised provider. While the medical professionals would not initially assume direct responsibility for prescribing or providing clinical intervention to individual service users, those who wish to further specialise in the assessment, diagnosis and clinical management of gender dysphoria would be supported to attain enhanced competencies through the existing post-graduate credential in gender medicine hosted by the Royal College of Physicians.