NHS England South East - Market Engagement #2 - Diabetic Eye Screening Programmes across the South East

This notice is placed as a Prior Information Notice (PIN) to facilitate engagement with potential providers and relates only to pre-procurement market engagement. NHS England South East (the Commissioner) seeks to determine the level of interest in delivering Diabetic Eye Screening Programmes (DESP) to eligible populations within the below populations. The following geographies are likely to be in scope; however, the lotting is still to be determined. • Hampshire and Isle of Wight (inc. Southampton and Portsmouth) • Kent and Medway • Berkshire (inc. West Berkshire, Reading, Wokingham, Bracknell, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Slough) • Buckinghamshire • Oxfordshire • Surrey The commissioner is currently giving consideration to existing contracting arrangements, as well as current Integrated Care System (ICS) boundaries. This, along with market feedback, will help to inform the lotting structure and future contracting arrangements. The Buckinghamshire population is currently served by a separate contract, as part of a wider Milton Keyes and Buckinghamshire programme coordinated by the East of England region. Milton Keynes will remain out of scope of this recommissioning exercise, whereas Buckinghamshire will be in scope. Consideration is being given as to whether the Buckinghamshire population should be commissioned as a standalone Lot or included within a Lot serving other populations within the wider Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System geography. The eligible population includes patients over the age of 12 diagnosed with diabetes and registered with, or eligible to be registered with a GP, as well as individuals within prisons, secure units and the armed forces. The aim of the DESP is to reduce the risk of sight loss amongst people with diabetes by the prompt identification and effective treatment, if necessary, of sight threatening diabetic retinopathy. This will be achieved by delivering an evidence-based service that: • Identifies the eligible population and ensures effective delivery with maximum coverage • Is safe, effective, high quality, externally and independently monitored, and quality assured • Leads to earlier detection, appropriate referral, effective treatment and improved outcomes • Is delivered and supported by suitably trained, competent and qualified clinical and non-clinical staff who, where relevant, participate in recognised ongoing continuing medical education (CME), continuous professional development (CPD) and quality assurance (QA) schemes • Has audit embedded in the service • Works effectively with other stakeholders to ensure the care pathway is smooth and efficient. There are three key elements of service delivery, namely: • Call/recall for all people with diabetes invited for routine digital screening - from 2025 and 2026 all eligible patients should be managed on 12 or 24 month intervals for routine diabetic eye screening. • Digital surveillance where more frequent screening of those individuals who may be at increased risk of developing diabetic retinopathy but have not reached the threshold to be referred into the Hospital Eye Services (HES), as required. • Slit lamp bio-microscopy (SLB) for those individuals where normal photography is inappropriate (e.g. those having cataracts). It is also anticipated that Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) will be introduced into the programme across England in line with national guidance. Further information on the DESP is available at; https://www.gov.uk/topic/population-screening-programmes/diabetic-eye The contracts are due to commence on 1 April 2025. The contract values have yet to be finalised. However, the current estimated annual contract values based on 2023/2024 prices and respective estimated eligible population figures, are provided below for indicative purposes: • Hampshire and Isle of Wight £2,280,709; population 85,575 • Portsmouth and South East Hampshire £1,169,887; population 42,853 • Kent and Medway £3,410,755; population 124,123 • Berkshire £1,851,417; population 59,505 • Buckinghamshire £844,742; population 32,978 • Oxfordshire £959,232; population 36,276 • Surrey £1,624,630; population 52,566 The final financial envelopes (at contract advert stage) will take account of any change as a result of forthcoming pathway changes, the financial mechanism adopted for these contracts and the finance and business rules in the NHS Operating Framework. The contract values could also reduce during the contract term owing to the anticipated national changes to screening intervals for low risk individuals. TUPE is likely to apply to all or part of the services/programmes being recommissioned. The Commissioner seeks responses to a market engagement questionnaire, the aim of which is to determine the level of provider interest in delivering these services and obtain feedback from the market to help inform re-commissioning. This is the second questionnaire published for market engagement. This may be followed by further questionnaire(s) and /or a pre-procurement market briefing event. If a briefing event is arranged, details will be shared with those who express an interest and return a completed market engagement questionnaire. If you are interested in these services, please register on the e-procurement system, Atamis (Contract Reference is C247725), and submit a completed provider market engagement questionnaire by 12 noon on 27th February 2024. This exercise is being carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioner. Additional information: These services are healthcare services falling within the Health Care Services, (Provider Selection Regime) (PSR) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, (and the 'Light Touch Regime' contained therein), do not apply to these services and thus do not apply to this notice.