The procurement contact named on the official notice.

This notice is placed in order to facilitate early engagement with potential providers, and relates only to a pre-procurement market briefing.

NHSE/I South East (the Commissioner) are seeking to recommission Level 2 and 3a NHS Orthodontic Services in the Oxford, Thame, Eastleigh and Dover areas, and will be undertaking a procurement process to award new contracts.

Prospective bidders are invited to a pre-procurement market briefing event held virtually on 27th April 2022, 17.30 - 19.30.

The event has been timed to avoid a clash with clinical sessions as much as possible.

Orthodontics is the dental specialty concerned with facial growth, development of the dentition and occlusion, and the assessment, diagnosis, interception and treatment of malocclusions and facial irregularities.

The overall aim of the service is to provide equitable, accessible, high quality and cost effective specialist orthodontic services, in line with the National Guide for Commissioning Orthodontics, 2015 and NHS Personal Dental Services (PDS) Agreements Regulations 2005.

Orthodontics is mainly provided for children and adolescents who meet the agreed criteria for NHS treatment and for adults where there is clinical justification and where prior approval has been agreed with the commissioner.

The service includes: • Assessment and treatment delivered according to each patient's clinical needs, including interceptive treatment and in hours urgent care • Treatment includes examination, taking of radiographs, diagnosis, preventative care, advice, planning of orthodontic treatment, supply and repair of orthodontic appliances including retainers for a period of 12 months following the completion of active orthodontic treatment • Appropriate referral to other healthcare providers for mandatory or advanced mandatory services or any other appropriate and necessary healthcare • Advice to the patient and other clinicians where appropriate The contracts are limited to orthodontic treatment within complexity Level 2 and 3a and excludes all mandatory services and the following additional services: • Sedation services • Domiciliary services • Minor oral surgery • Dental public health services • Orthodontic complexity level 1 and 3b cases The procurement is anticipated to commence from May 2022, inviting tenders to deliver services for specific lotted areas, with contract commencement anticipated on 1st April 2023.

NHSE/I anticipates contracting for services under a PDS agreement.

To allow potential providers to reflect on the proposed services, early indicative information has been provided as part of this notice, as well as a market sounding questionnaire for potential providers to respond to, prior to the briefing event.

At the briefing, we will share further detail of the commissioner's objectives for the services.

We will also provide details of the e-procurement system (being used to procure these services) and how the procurement process will operate.