Community Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Service

The purpose of this Notice is to inform the market of a contract which has been awarded by NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (HWE ICB) to its incumbent supplier, Communitas Clinics Limited, to continue to provide an Enhanced Community Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Service across South West Hertfordshire.

This Notice follows the publication of a Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency Notice (VEAT) published on 25th October 2023 (Reference: 2023/S 000-0314439). Prior to awarding the contract, HWE ICB observed a voluntary 10-day standstill period. The awarded date of the contract identified in this Notice is the date following the last day of the standstill period.

Communitas Clinics Ltd were awarded a 3-year contract in October 2018 (with the option to extend for 2-years) to provide the service following an open competitive process. The extension period comes to an end on 3rd February 2024. The new contract will start on 4th February 2024 and will end on 31st March 2025. This new short-term contract will enable time for full engagement and consultation on the services across the three 'places' within Hertfordshire and West Essex to fully review existing services with the aim of moving towards a more equitable ENT offer across the ICB.

The service delivers an ENT Service for patients with nonemergency ENT conditions across all four localities in South and West Herts place. This specialist community model is provided and led from a muti-disciplinary hub, enabling specialist assessment of patients in the community and quicker access to multi-disciplinary team assessment, diagnostics and treatments with a choice of an elective care provider, if required. It focusses on clearly defined clinical pathways, GP support, advice and guidance and education.

The cumulative value of the contract to date is estimated at £6,608,951 (excluding VAT). This is an estimate as the 2023/4 full year effect is not yet known.

The value of the new contract is £1,593,206 (excluding VAT).

NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board became a legal entity on 1st July 2022 in place of the three Clinical Commissioning Groups which previously covered the areas (West Essex CCG, East & North Herts CCG and Herts Valleys CCG). Since it was formed, HWE ICB have been reviewing the services provided across its area.

This short-term contract will enable the ICB sufficient time to undertake full and robust engagement and consultation across the three 'places' within the ICB area to review existing services with the aim of moving towards a more equitable ENT offer across the ICB as historically, these services were commissioned separately by each of the CCGs.

This approach will allow continuity of services for the patient population and will ensure that a new service is developed which meets their future needs.

As this was not competitive, the closing date in this Notice is the date on which the ICB approved the decision to award the contract.