CONTRACT NOTICE – OFFICIAL JOURNAL

Section I: Contracting Authority

I.1)

Name, Address and Contact Point(s)

I.2)

Type of contracting Authority and Main Activity or Activities

Ministry or any other national or federal authority, including their regional or local sub-divisions National or federal agency/Office Regional or local Authority Regional or local Agency/Office Body governed by public law European Institution/Agency or International Organisation

General public services Defence Public order and safety Environment Economic and financial affairs Health Housing and community amenities Social protection Recreation, culture and religion Education

Section II: Object of the Contract

II.1)

Description

II.1.1)

Title attributed to the contract by the contracting authority

II.1.2(a))

Type of works contract

II.1.2(b))

Type of supplies contract

II.1.2(c))

Type of service contract

II.1.2)

Main site or location of works, place of delivery or performance

NHS Stockport CCG, United Kingdom.

II.1.3)

This notice involves

A public contract
The setting up of a Dynamic Purchasing System
The establishment of a framework agreement

II.1.4)

Information on framework agreement (if applicable)

Framework agreement with a single operators
Framework agreement with several operators

Number of participants to the framework agreement envisaged

Duration of the framework agreement

Justification for a framework agreement the duration of which exceeds four years

Estimated total value of purchases for the entire duration of the framework agreement

Frequency and value of the contracts to be awarded

II.1.5)

Short description of the contract or purchase(s)

NHS STOCKPORT CCG is seeking to commission a treatment and management service for patients with wet age related macular degeneration (AMD). The aim is to provide services which are closer to home and are rapidly accessible. Assessment of the condition should be rapid and within two week of referral by GP/Optometrist and treatment (where clinically appropriate) should commence within one week of diagnosis of treatable wet AMD.

Local Context.

Stockport has a population of 285,000 people (English Public Health Observatories, 2012) with comparatively mixed health to the England average.

Priorities in Stockport include reducing consumption of, and harm related to, alcohol, improving and promoting mental wellbeing and resilience at all ages and reducing health inequalities by giving children a healthy start.

Whilst it is essential Stockport CCG reduces inappropriate admissions and referrals in order that NHS resources are used cost effectively, the CCG is committed to high quality clinical care; “the right treatment, at the right time, in the right place and at the right price”.

The estimated level of obesity in adults (22%) is better than the England average (24%). However, 21.5% of adults are smokers, which is higher than the average for England and research shows that smoking increases the risk of AMD two-fold (English Public Health Observatories, 2012)

The current AMD service pathway for Stockport patients has been in place for a number of years and the CCG are introducing a new service specification to ensure that the service is fit for purpose under the new NHS landscape. This service has been developed in line with service user feedback, the wider Ophthalmology strategy nationally and for the CCG and Stockport CCG's healthcare strategy including the 3 domains;

— Patient Safety;

— Effectiveness;

— Patient Experience.

Currently NICE have approved three treatments for wet AMD, which are listed below:

— the anti-VEGF drug Ranibizumab (Lucentis) injected directly into the eye;

— Aflibercept (National Institute for Care and Excellence, 2013) (Eylea®, solution for injectionphotodynamic therapy.

Evidence Based

There are on average about 26,000 new cases of wet AMD in the UK each year, with the condition affecting more women than men. By definition the condition usually affects people who are aged over 55+ years of age but incidence increases markedly with increasing age to peak in the 80-85 year age groups. The most commonly cited risk factor for AMD is cigarette smoking; the risk of developing AMD is 3.6 times greater for current and former smokers than people who have never smoke. The aetiology of wet AMD is outlined below:

There are two main types of AMD – ‘wet' (exudative) and 'dry' (atrophic).

Wet AMD (neovascular), the most severe but more treatable, has an incidence of 1 in 10 cases. However, it accounts for 90% of all AMD blindness (Varmus, 1997). It is characterised by the development of immature blood vessels (angiogenesis) - a process known as choroidal neovascularisation (CNV). CNV can be subdivided into classic and occult forms. Through investigation by fluorescein angiography the location of these vessels on the retina is determined. Location of the blood vessels is important in terms of its effect on vision and effectiveness of treatment as these vessels haemorrhage easily and cause lesions on the macular leading to rapid visual impairment. A protein known as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been implicated in the development and progression of CNV. Drugs that inhibit the action of VEGF have been developed for the treatment of wet AMD.

Dry AMD (non-neovascular) is the most common form of AMD, occurring in 9 out of 10 cases. It is an extensive atrophy (wasting) of cells that progresses slowly therefore, it usually takes several years for vision to become seriously affected. Approximately 10-20% of people with dry AMD progress to the wet, exudative form of AMD. There is currently no treatment for dry AMD but it is usually less severe and more slowly progressive than the wet form.

This service will ensure that patients are seen and treated in an environment most appropriate to their clinical needs. This service will ensure that patients have access to translation services where required, low vision services and that links are forged with the NHS STOCKPORT Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO) for emotional and practical advice.

Location(s) of service delivery.

The service will be a local Stockport service, with possible multiple delivery points bringing the service closer to home for patients. Service locations should be accessible by car and within reasonable access of public transport routes. Appointments should be available on several days of the working week, in the evenings and at weekends. , The option for earlier or later appointments in line with seasonal changes (dark nights) would be advantageous for the patient demographic and transport options. AMD clinics will be led by a Medical Retinal Specialist Consultant ophthalmologist. The provider should consider future demand for the wet AMD service and have the flexibility to provide additional sites to meet demand as required.

II.1.6)

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

II.1.7)

Contract covered by the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

II.1.8)

Division into lots

II.1.9)

Will variants be accepted

II.2)

Quantity or Scope of the Contract

II.2.1)

Total quantity or scope

II.2.2)

Options

Provisional timetable for recourse to these options

Number of possible renewals

In the case of renewable supplies or service contracts, estimated time frame for subsequent contracts

II.3)

Duration of the contract or limit for completion

Section III: Legal, Economic, Financial and Technical Information

III.1)

Conditions Relating to the Contract

III.1.1)

Deposits and guarantees required

III.1.2)

Main Terms of financing and payment and/or reference to the relevant provisions

III.1.3)

Legal form to be taken by the grouping of suppliers, contractors or service providers to whom the contract is to be awarded

III.1.4)

Other particular conditions to which the performance of the contract is subject

III.2)

Conditions for Participation

III.2.1)

Personal situation of economic operators, including requirements relating to enrolment on professional or trade registers

This procurement exercise will be conducted on the EU supply eTendering portal at: https://nhssbs.eu-supply.com

Candidates wishing to be considered for this agreement must register their expression of interest and provide additional procurement specific information through this portal.

To register interest:

1) Go to ‘Current Tender Opportunities' from the eTendering portal login page: https://nhssbs.eu-supply.com

2) Find the tender listed and click on the title. This will take you to the letter of invitation.

3) If you are not a registered user of EU Supply follow the ‘Online registration' link otherwise follow the ‘Login' link and enter username and password.

4) Once logged in ‘Accept' the invitation to register your interest in the opportunity. You will then be taken direct to the tender response screen.

5) Go to the ‘Access Documents' folder on the response screen to view and download tender documentation.

Further guidance on how to access and respond to the opportunity is available in the ‘Quick Guide for Suppliers' which is available for downloading from the main portal login page: https://nhssbs.eu-supply.com

(follow link: ‘Quick Guide for Suppliers').

For any support in submitting your response please contact EU Supply Helpdesk at support@eu-supply.com (Tel: +44 8008402050) quoting the tender ID number.

III.2.2)

Economic and financial capacity

III.2.3)

Technical capacity

III.2.4)

Reserved contracts

The contract is restricted to sheltered workshops
The execution of the contract is restricted to the framework of sheltered employment programmes

III.3)

Conditions Specific to Service Contracts

III.3.1)

Is provision of the service reserved to a specific profession?

III.3.2)

Will legal entities be required to state the names and professional qualifications of the personnel responsible for the execution of the service?

Section IV: Procedure

IV.1)

Type of Procedure

Open		Restricted
Accelerated restricted		Negotiated
Accelerated negotiated		Competitive dialogue

Justification for the choice of accelerated procedure

IV.1.1)

Have candidates already been selected?

IV.1.2)

Limitations on the number of operators who will be invited to tender or to participate

Objective criteria for choosing the limited number of candidates

As detailed in the PQQ documentation.

IV.1.3)

Reduction of the number of operators during the negotiation or dialogue

Recourse to staged procedure to gradually reduce the number of solutions to be discussed or tenders to be negotiated

IV.2)

Award Criteria

IV.2.2)

An electronic auction will be used

IV.3 Administrative Information

IV.3.1)

Reference number attributed to the notice by the contracting authority

IV.3.2)

Previous publication(s) concerning the same contract

Prior Information Notice
Notice on a Buyer Profile

Other previous publications

IV.3.3)

Conditions for obtaining specifications and additional documents

IV.3.4)

Time-limit for receipt of tenders or requests to participate

IV.3.5)

Date of dispatch of invitations to tender or to participate to selected candidates

IV.3.6)

Language or languages in which tenders or requests to participate can be drawn up

IV.3.7)

Minimum time frame during which the tenderer must maintain the tender 

IV.3.8)

Conditions for opening tenders

Section VI: Other Information

VI.1)

Indicate whether this procurement is a recurrent one and the Estimated timing for further notices to be published

VI.2)

Does the contract relate to a Project/Programme financed by Community Funds?

VI.3)

Additional Information

-

VI.4)

Procedures for appeal

VI.4.1)

Body responsible for appeal procedures

Body responsible for mediation procedures

VI.4.2)

Lodging of appeals
Precise information on deadline(s) for lodging appeals:

VI.4.3)

Service from which information about the lodging of appeals may be obtained

VI.5)

Dispatch date of this Notice