East of England: Gender Dysphoria Service for Adults (non-surgical)

Description

Following an initial pilot service that has informed the development of a future delivery model, NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (AGCSU), on behalf of NHS England Specialised Commissioning (referred to as the Commissioner), is undertaking a market engagement exercise to seek expressions of interest from providers who have the capability and capacity to deliver non-surgical interventions for individuals on the NHS pathway of care for the treatment of gender dysphoria within the East of England region. Interested parties are encouraged to register their interest and participate in the market questionnaire which will provide feedback to commissioners. The outcome of this market engagement will be considered, with other evidence to inform the commissioning and contracting approach for the service. Lot 1: The Commissioner would like to identify capable providers who are interested in the provision of an adult gender dysphoria service, covering the population in the East of England region, in line with the NHS England service specification: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/service-specification-gender-identity-services-for-adults-non-surgical-interventions/]. The successful provider will utilise a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, and the service will be delivered from a primary care setting in the East of England region. The service will provide assessment of individuals for the purpose of diagnosis and will provide (or arrange access to) healthcare interventions for those who receive a diagnosis of gender dysphoria as described in the service specification. <br/><br/>The Commissioner has funded a pilot service in the East of England Region since 2021, and the contract for that pilot ends on 31 March 2026. The Commissioner’s learning from the evaluation of the pilot has informed the future delivery model for the proposed service.<br/><br/>The contract for the service is expected to be operational, providing services from 1 April 2026. It is anticipated that the contract term will be 5 years with an option to extend for a further 2 years (at commissioner discretion). The indicative contract value at this stage is up to £2,100,000 p/a recurring and up to £75,000 to cover mobilisation costs (if required, and at the commissioner’s sole discretion).<br/><br/>Exact activity levels for the contract will be determined by the commissioner during the procurement process. However, for planning purposes, providers are expected to have capacity to receive approximately 400 new referrals per year, and to deliver at least 1,500 first assessments per year, as well as at least one – but possibly multiple – correlating follow up appointments. <br/><br/>The service will have the following objectives: <br/>• provide a high-quality, timely and sustainable service for adults who are registered with a GP in the East of England region and who have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria <br/>• provide a service and pathway delivered in line with the requirements of the national service specification for adult gender services <br/>The successful bidder will be required to establish a clinical team, with a named clinical lead, in a central hub that is staffed by clinicians who are experienced in gender care, with formal arrangements in place for transfer to other services for potential interventions that are not directly provided by the service (for example, endocrinology) and to other Gender Dysphoria Clinics for more complex cases (for example, individuals with a forensic history)<br/>Interested providers should note that a key feature of the delivery model is the placement of Clinical Assistants, such as GPs or General Endocrinologists who are working under the supervision of a Gender Dysphoria Clinic specialist, (~6 at ~0.3WTE) across the region working to a central service hub and directly employed by the commissioned provider. These Clinical Assistants would provide support to their local primary care system in the shared care of patients who are under the care of – or discharged from – the specialised gender service. By involving primary care providers in the long-term management of stabilised patients, the model aims to improve the awareness and understanding of gender care within general practice, reduce unnecessary delays in the provision of medical treatments to individuals and free up clinical time in the commissioned specialised provider. While the Clinical Assistant would not initially assume direct responsibility for prescribing or providing clinical intervention to individual service users, Clinical Assistants who wish to further specialise in the assessment, diagnosis and clinical management of gender dysphoria would be supported to attain enhanced competencies through the existing post-graduate credential in gender medicine hosted by the Royal College of Physicians.<br/><br/>Interested providers will be able to access the market engagement questionnaire through the Atamis (Health Family) portal. To register your interest and access the questionnaire, please follow this link: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome.<br/><br/>Following the market engagement, a provider selection process will be undertaken in line with The Healthcare Provider Selection Regime (PSR). <br/><br/>The project reference is C389026 and the closing date for submission of the completed questionnaire is 12pm, midday on Thursday 16 October 2025.<br/><br/>There will also be an opportunity to attend a market engagement event via Microsoft Teams at 3PM on Monday 29 September 2025. If you would like to participate in this event, please confirm this through the Atamis portal. <br/><br/>All slides and questions and responses will be made available to all providers following the event.