Essex Community Dental Service

Concepts

• dental practice
• ipswich
• chelmsford
• hemel hempstead
• other local nhs primary dental care services
• mandatory primary dental care services
• additional services
• essex icb
• dental services
• north east essex integrated care board

Location

Essex wide contract including north east Essex from SNEE, west Essex from HWE and the whole of MSE

Description

Mandatory primary dental care services for people whose oral care needs cannot be met through other local NHS primary dental care services due to special needs.

Total Quantity or Scope

Services provided: • Mandatory services and additional services for a minority of people whose oral care needs cannot be met through other local NHS primary care due to special needs. Includes urgent treatment. • Evidence based oral health improvement programmes. • Epidemiological studies. • Sedation services. • Domiciliary service. The original contract term was for 5 years. With an option to extend for 2 years - from 1 April 2016 for five years until 31 March 2022, and from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024. At the end of the contract term, NHSE delegated commissioning of dental services to ICBs and a subsequent two-year contract was awarded under Direct Award C from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2026. It is intended that this contract is continued for one year ending 31 March 2027 to enable a full procurement for Essex to be undertaken by the new Essex ICB. A further one-year extension is proposed to ensure continuity of service in the event that Essex ICB is not legally able to procure before 31 March 2027. NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board are awarding the contract named within this notice under the Direct Award C process which is outlined within the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The provider named in this notice is an existing provider and has been reviewed through a Key Criteria assessment to ensure the awarding body is satisfied with current performance and reasonably expects the provider to be able to satisfy the contract which is the subject of this notice. The contract which is the subject of this notice has not changed considerably when compared with the existing / previous contract delivered by the named provider. The ICB may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included in the Specification, at any given time. Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in the Contract Notice. To this end, after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the contract may be varied as allowable in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

Award Detail

Renewal Options

Potential extension for 1 year

Award Criteria

CPV Codes

• 85130000 - Dental practice and related services

Indicators

• Options are available.
• Award on basis of price.

Legal Justification

Other justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union or the Find a Tender Service: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations. 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 decision makers by 29th September 2025 (8 working days following publication of intention to award notice). They should be submitted in writing to procurement@snee.nhs.uk. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR. Insert Award decision-makers: Suffolk and North East Essex Dental Committee 22nd July 2025 • No conflicts of interest, or potential conflicts of interest, were declared by any decision makers. The decision to award this contract in line with Direct Award Process C was based on evaluation against the five required key criteria as follows: • Quality and Innovation - Assured- SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering a safe and effective service as required by the specification and contract they are currently delivering. This criterion was reviewed in line with the Quality Impact Assessment. • Value - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering value to the integrated care system and the cost of change would not be outweighed by the potential benefit of a new provider. • Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is positively impacting on the integrated care system through their integration and collaboration delivered as a requirement of the specification or alternative elements linked to the delivery. • Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is meeting needs of the population to ensure equitable access and choice as required by the specification and contract. This criterion was reviewed in line with the Equality Impact Assessment. • Social Value - Assured - SNEE ICB are assured that the provider is delivering in line with the SNEE Green Plan, supporting with the implementation of carbon reduction and increase in initiatives which positively impact on the wider determinants of health. This criterion was reviewed in line with the Sustainability Impact Assessment.