Derbyshire Adult Community Audiology Service - Market Engagement (DDICB)

Description

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (CSU), on behalf of NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board ("the Commissioner") are seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced providers for the provision of a Derbyshire Adult Community Audiology Service.<br/><br/>The Commissioners are inviting the market to express their interest in the future delivery of these services and seeking feedback from the market on the proposed service specification. Potential providers interested in this service are requested to complete the soft market testing questionnaire. Lot 1: NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB (DDICB) commissions an adult (18+) direct access community audiology service. This service provides hearing assessments and, if necessary, the supply and fitting of one or two hearing aids along with follow-up support. Patients 55 and older can self-refer, whereas those younger than 55 require a GP referral. In the 2024/25 period, it delivered roughly a total of 63,793 interventions (this activity consisted of assessments, all aftercare appointments and fitting appointments). Please note this data does not contain Glossop activity, but it is anticipated that the Glossop area will also be included as a part of this service from 2026 onwards.<br/><br/>NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB are inviting Expressions of Interest from suitably qualified providers to express their interest in delivering for the provision of a Derbyshire Adult Community Audiology Service. Following the market engagement, it is currently anticipated that an appropriate Provider Selection Regime (PSR) procurement process / provider selection process will be undertaken to implement a patient choice model, similar to that previously described (under historical procurement regimes/legislation) as an Any Qualified Provider (AQP) model. The ICB intends to award a zero volume, zero value contract to providers that are capable and meet the relevant requirements, which will be described in the future procurement process. The contract duration for this service is expected to be 3-years with up to a 2-year extension option. The maximum indicative budget available for the service is expected to be circa £4.8m per annum. <br/><br/>All interested providers are requested to review the service specification and then complete a short questionnaire to share feedback and express their interest in delivering this service. Further details of the service can be found within the published draft specification (available via the Atamis e-tendering portal on the link below).<br/><br/>The aim of this Expression of Interest is to;<br/>1. Allow the market visibility of the proposed opportunity.<br/>2. To inform the DDICB decision-making process for the potential future commissioning of the Derbyshire Adult Community Audiology Services.<br/>3. To help refine the future commissioning and procurement approach.<br/>4. To gauge the level of interest from the market of capable providers with capacity to deliver, maintain and strengthen services across Derbyshire as illustrated in the draft service specification.<br/>5. To invite feedback from potential providers/the market on the draft service specification.<br/><br/>As part of this advert, and to facilitate the above, the commissioner will be requesting providers to complete and submit a market engagement questionnaire (available via the e-tendering portal).<br/><br/>To register your expression of interest and to complete the questionnaire, please use the following link and Project reference: Link: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome. Project Reference: C379400.<br/><br/>The deadline for Expressions of Interest responses is by 15:00 on 4th September 2025.<br/><br/>Please note this is a market engagement exercise and does not commit the ICB to carry out any further procurement process. Any future opportunity will be advertised in accordance with the regulations.<br/><br/>Any and all information/documents that are made available as part of this engagement exercise are draft and subject to change. All timeframes are indicative and also subject to change.<br/><br/>Please note, this Prior Information Notice relates to a service/contract in scope of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). Any future Procurement / Provider Selection Process conducted will be subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Procurement Act Regulations 2023 will not apply.