Orthodontic Services in Oxford, Thame, Eastleigh and Dover to NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I) South East

NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I) South East (the Commissioner) are seeking to recommission Level 2 and 3a NHS Orthodontic Services in the Oxford, Thame, Eastleigh and Dover areas. The Commissioner will be contracting for the services using the Standard clauses for a Personal Dental Services (PDS) agreement.

The contract term will be for an initial period of 7 years, with an option to extend for a further 2 years at the sole discretion of the Commissioner and is due to commence on 1st April 2023.

The Commissioner has a budget range available from a minimum of £60.28 to a maximum of £64.68 per Unit of Orthodontic Activity (UOA) based on 21/22 prices. The maximum budget per annum for all Lots is £2,393,160.

The procurement is split into four lots, as follows so as to provide maximum flexibility to both the Commissioner and Bidders and interested parties may bid for one or two lots;

• Lot 1: Oxford
• Lot 2: Thame
• Lot 3: Eastleigh
• Lot 4: Dover

The Commissioners seek tender responses from providers who have the capability and capacity to undertake such a contract.

Orthodontics is the dental specialty concerned with facial growth, development of the dentition and occlusion, and the assessment, diagnosis, interception and treatment of malocclusions and facial irregularities.

The overall aim of the service is to provide equitable, accessible, high quality and cost effective specialist orthodontic services, in line with the National Guide for Commissioning Orthodontics, 2015 and NHS Personal Dental Services (PDS) Agreements Regulations 2005.

Orthodontics is mainly provided for children and adolescents who meet the agreed criteria for NHS treatment and for adults where there is clinical justification and where prior approval has been agreed with the commissioner.

The service includes:

• Assessment and treatment delivered according to each patient's clinical needs, including interceptive treatment and in hours urgent care
• Treatment includes examination, taking of radiographs, diagnosis, preventative care, advice, planning of orthodontic treatment, supply and repair of orthodontic appliances including retainers for a period of 12 months following the completion of active orthodontic treatment
• Appropriate referral to other healthcare providers for mandatory or advanced mandatory services or any other appropriate and necessary healthcare
• Advice to the patient and other clinicians where appropriate

The contracts are limited to orthodontic treatment within complexity Level 2 and 3a and excludes all mandatory services and the following additional services:

• Sedation services
• Domiciliary services
• Minor oral surgery
• Dental public health services
• Orthodontic complexity level 1 and 3b cases

Interested parties who wish to take part in the procurement are 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.

All ITT responses must be returned by 12 noon on 6th July 2022, at the latest.

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