Contract award · 10 Mar 2021

Optometric Enhanced Services

Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group awarded “Optometric Enhanced Services” to Somerset Optometry Practices for £1.63m on 10 Mar 2021. Awarded without open competition.

No competition
Buyer
Somerset Clinical Commissioning Group · Body governed by public law
Supplier
Somerset Optometry Practices
Value
£1,625,000
Contract date
10 Mar 2021
Published
11 Mar 2021
Procedure
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Sector
Health & social care · Medical practice and related services (CPV 85120000)
Region
South West
Official notice
004967-2021 on Find a Tender

Awarded without open competition. The buyer went directly to one or a few suppliers instead of advertising the contract. Procurement rules allow this only in specific cases, such as extreme urgency, when only one supplier can do the work, or for call-offs from an existing framework.

Description

The contracts currently awarded to 30 optometric providers across Somerset provide the following Optometric Enhanced Services: • Acute Community Eye Care • Intra-Ocular Pressure Referral Refinement Service • Ocular Hypertension Monitoring Service These services are aimed at increasing access to acute eye care in the community and reducing unnecessary referrals to hospital eye care. Part of the service is aimed at the prompt diagnosis of high intra-ocular pressure in at risk patients. The contracts with these providers are due to expire on 31st March 2021 and the commissioner intends to directly award contracts to 30 existing providers across Somerset from 1st April 2021, to continue the delivery of these Services for a period of 36 months to 31st March 2024. The decision to award the three year contract supports alignment with the developing Fit For My Future strategy and public consultation, which will determine the services required in the future and the new contracting model supporting organised primary care. The CCG has already undertaken a review of all the enhanced services, and would not want to destabilise delivery of the services through undertaking procurement. All optometric practices provide a good quality service that meets the needs and expectation of the commissioner and patients. The commissioner has no concerns regarding the proposed providers' ability to deliver the service through to 31st March 2024. As a result of all the material factors noted above, the negotiated procedure without prior publication has been followed and justified under regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) 'competition is absent for technical reasons'. The indicative Annual Contract value which is split across 36 separate optometry practices within the boundaries of Somerset is circa £500,000 per annum. If you wish to see the breakdown by practice please follow the link within the contracts finder notice. Additional information: The services are healthcare services falling within Schedule 3 to the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 ("the Regulations") which are not subject to the full regime of the Regulations, but is instead governed by the "Light Touch Regime" contained within Chapter 3, Section 7 of the Regulations (Regulations 74 to 77).

About the supplier

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