Child Vision Screening Soft Market Testing Exercise

Description

Introduction: This questionnaire is part of a soft market testing exercise to inform future commissioning arrangements and procurement of the Vision Screening Service for School Children Aged 4-5 Years Old within the Dudley borough. The purpose of this soft market testing exercise is to establish the extent of the demand in the market for the delivery of Vision Screening Service for School Children Aged 4-5 Years Old, to support development and refinement of the service specification as well as associated terms and conditions of the contract. We are seeking written responses to the questions set out in the questionnaire below. Whilst there is no obligation to answer all questions and all answers are for information purposes only, we would encourage your cooperation to respond to as many of the questions as possible.The deadline for the submission of your completed questionnaires is Friday 11th August 2023 Lot 1: Following the receipt of completed questionnaires, the Council may seek to follow up and to invite you to participate in virtual discussion.The service:The service to be commissioned is vision screening in 4–5-year-old children to detect reduced or abnormal vision in one or both eyes; primarily to detect amblyopia, a form of abnormal vision system development, including strabismus and refractive error. Early detection of amblyopia may result in the avoidance of permanent visual impairments by allowing early intervention. The direct health outcome is the optimal development of vision for children with amblyopia though prompt access to treatment. The target population is 4–5-year-old primary school entrant children across Dudley borough. There is estimated to be approximately 4000 children in this age group per academic year. The Service operates within the boundaries of Dudley Council and therefore will include children whose family live outside the Dudley area, but the child attends a school within Dudley. This includes children attending mainstream and special schools, independent schools and children who are not in education, including those electively home educated.The service also includes targeted screening for preschool children who are referred for assessment via their Health Visitor. Safeguarding needs would always override any boundary discrepancy if services were needed.ExclusionScreening will not be delivered to any child where:• They are already receiving care from specialist optometry services.• Parent / carer consent is not provided.This service should be administered by Orthoptists in schools across Dudley, in line with UKNSC recommendations. Providers must ensure that those administering the screening must meet the training requirements and standards required. Children with a low visual acuity in one or both eyes will be referred along the pathway for further assessment; in addition, the result of the screening test will be communicated with the child’s parent/carer/guardian. Further guidance can be found on https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-vision-screeningCosts: The total financial envelope for this is likely to be in the region of £25,000 – £35,000 per annum inclusive of uplifts and management costs. Soft Market Testing Questionnaire Organisation details Name of organisation Contact name Position AddressPost code Telephone Email Do you currently have a presence / service in Dudley or neighbouring local authority? Please note that where a word count applies to your answers, information given beyond this word count may not be considered. Please be as concise as you can in your responses1) Based on the information provided, how likely is it that your organisation would bid for the service? please select one. V. Unlikely, Unlikely, Likely, Very LikelyWhere you have answered very unlikely or unlikely for question 1, please detail your reasons why:(Word count maximum 250 words) 2.With factors such as premises, resources and workforce factored please select all the contract lengths your organisation would consider if bidding for this service. Select all that apply Contract term( with possible extensions) 2yr , 3yr,4yr Of the options above in question 2, which would be your preferred contract length and please provide rationale: (Word count maximum 250 words)3.Do you foresee any challenges/areas of concern with establishing a service like this across the borough? Please provide further information (word count 250 words)4.Do you feel a 3-month mobilisation period between the contract award and commencement date (currently proposed as 1st Jan 2024) would be sufficient? Yes/No5.What service levels and KPI would you propose for the provision of this service to maximise outcomes? word count 250Please note that any queries or questions of clarification relating to this soft market testing questionnaire must be submitted through the portal. To be completed by 11/08/23