Level 1 Dental Sedation Service in Mid and South Essex

Location

Mid and South Essex

Description

NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (the Authority) intends to award three contracts to deliver Level 1 Sedation Services for children and adults in Mid and South Essex, following a Most Suitable Provider (MSP) process under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. Level 1 conscious sedation services provide basic, safe sedation, mainly inhalation sedation and single drug intravenous sedation, to help patients undergo routine dental treatment. These services follow nationally recognised IACSD Standards, which set requirements for trained staff, appropriate clinical environments, monitoring, and safe recovery. The Authority seeks to increase Level 1 dental sedation capacity in North Mid and South Essex, specifically from Chelmsford northwards, with services located along the A12/A120 corridor to ensure good patient access. Providers will only be deemed suitable therefore if they operate an existing dental practice within this defined catchment. In applying the Process, the Authority has assessed the five Key Criteria and updated its provider landscape knowledge through a key criteria assessment and data gathering process, to confirm provider capability and local connections. Based on its assessment, the Authority believes it can identify the MSP without a competitive process.

Total Quantity or Scope

This notice is an intention to award a contract under the most suitable provider process in accordance with the Provider Selection Regime 2023 (PSR). The Authority will only consider organisations as suitable, that can meet the following basic selection criteria: The Authority seeks to increase Level 1 dental sedation capacity in North Mid and South Essex, specifically from Chelmsford northwards, with services located along the A12/A120 corridor to ensure good patient access. Providers must operate an existing dental practice within this defined catchment. Providers must hold an existing GDS or PDS contract for NHS mandatory services within Mid and South Essex. They must meet all IACSD 2020 Standards for Level 1 sedation, including compliant clinical facilities and appropriate environment. A fully trained sedation team (IACSD and CQC aligned) must be in place at contract start. Providers should hold relevant SAAD accreditation (SSC and/or SSPS, or equivalent). Providers must evidence robust sedation governance, including a sedation policy, protocols aligned to IACSD 2020 and the UK Sedation SOP, appropriate screening and assessment processes, and clear escalation pathways for Level 2/3 or GA referral. Providers must demonstrate compliance with CQC Regulations 11, 12, 15 and 18, with no outstanding CQC enforcement relating to sedation. There must be no unresolved NHSBSA Sedation Assurance issues, and Providers must be able to self declare evidence of safe historical sedation activity. Providers must not be subject to remedial notices or clinical safety investigations. Providers must be able to deliver sedation for adults and children, and demonstrate integration with local care pathways, including established referral routes with local dental services or hospitals for escalation and cross provider collaboration. The planned service model is designed to meet a specific, limited level of patient need, with an annual total of 500 Courses of Treatment (CoT) each reimbursed at a tariff of £240 per CoT. As this activity is distributed across all appointed providers, individual provider volumes will be modest. Providers should consider how these limited activity levels align with their operational planning and service delivery model when assessing suitability for this opportunity. The total funding available across all appointed providers equates to £120,000. The Authority intends to award three contracts, so each Provider can expect an annual contract value of approximately £40,000. Providers must be able to mobilise by 1 July 2026, and the contract will be awarded for a duration of 9 months, up to 31st March 2027, with the option of a further 12 month extension, subject to the Authority's requirements, which may be enacted at the Authority's discretion where extension is considered necessary to ensure uninterrupted service provision, ongoing compliance and performance, operational stability, or where financial or strategic considerations justify continuation of the existing arrangements. The aggregate contract value per each contract based on the contract duration (21 months) is approximately £70,000, based on a third of the CoT funded. Therefore the total budget for this Service across all three contracts is approximately £210,000 over the contract duration including extension period, if enacted. Key Criteria Assessment: The key criteria are being assessed on a pass / fail basis and are weighted by the Authority as follows: 1. Quality and Innovation (20%) 2. Value (20%) 3. Integration, Collaboration, Sustainability (15%) 4. Access and Health Inequalities (35%) 5. Social Value (10%)

CPV Codes

• 85100000 - Health services
• 85120000 - Medical practice and related services
• 85121000 - Medical practice services
• 85130000 - Dental practice and related services
• 85131000 - Dental-practice services
• 85140000 - Miscellaneous health services

Indicators

Other Information

Please see VI.3) Additional information, for further details. The Authority is publishing this Transparency Notice announcing its intention to follow the MSP process, based on the output of its MSP assessment. The Authority will observe a 14-day period to ensure suitably qualified and experienced providers can make themselves known in writing to the Authority. If the Authority's MSP Process indicates that its initial analysis was correct and the Authority is able to identify the most suitable provider(s) without competition, the Authority will thereafter proceed to award the contracts. The Authority is only considering organisations as suitable, that: • Meet the basic selection criteria (Reg 19) as described at II.2.4) Description of the procurement • Are not excluded or excludable (Reg 20). • Full meet and demonstrate capability across the five key criteria (Reg 5) as described at II.2.4) Description of the procurement. The decision makers for this MSP Process are the NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board Executive Team. In accordance with Regulation 21 of the PSR, the Authority is maintaining a Conflicts of Interest (COI) Register throughout this Process, details of which will be published in the Intention to Award and Contract Award Notices. In accordance with Regulation 13 of PSR, Modification of contracts during their term, the Authority may introduce contract modifications during the contract term, provided these changes remain proportionate, aligned with the original scope, and do not alter the contract's essential nature, risk profile, or core systems. Such changes will follow NHS Standard Contract change control processes. A summary of the information that was available and published in the MSP Process documentation follows: - Updates to national clinical standards for conscious sedation in dentistry, including any future changes to training, safety, or technical requirements. - Changes to workforce training, competency and accreditation requirements, including sedation specific qualifications, supervised clinical practice expectations, and life support training standards. - Amendments to referral pathways, clinical triage processes or assessment tools, including any future requirements for structured anxiety or sedation need assessment. - Adjustments to annual activity levels, clinical capacity, or distribution of activity across providers, based on changes in population need or commissioning priorities. - Updated requirements for clinical facilities, equipment, monitoring technology, recovery arrangements, infection control standards or environmental specifications. - Changes to quality assurance, clinical audit, incident reporting or patient safety reporting frameworks. - Modifications to clinical data requirements, reporting expectations, coding standards, or digital integration with local or national NHS systems. - Adjustments arising from local or national health needs assessments, including changes to patient groups served, service scope, or access expectations. Any queries regarding this Process should be directed to the Named Contact in this Notice and the email address provided herein.