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

NHS England

Buyer Contact Info

Buyer Name: NHS England

Buyer Address: Wellington House, 133-135 Waterloo Rd, London, UKJ1, SE1 8UG, United Kingdom

Contact Name: Anna Salt

Contact Email: anna.salt@nhs.net

Status
complete
Procedure
limited
Value
14700000.0 GBP
Published
02 Mar 2026, 11:38
Deadline
n/a
Contract Start
n/a
Contract End
n/a
Category
services
CPV
85100000 - Health services
Region
n/a
Awarded To
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 1
Official Source
Open Find a Tender

Description

The Commissioner is awarding a contract using the Most Suitable Provider (MSP) Process for the delivery of non-surgical interventions for individuals on the NHS pathway of care for the treatment of gender dysphoria within the East of England region.

Linked Documents

No linked documents found for this notice.

Opportunity Context

Lots

Lot Description: The intention is to award a contract under the Most Suitable Provider process which has identified the most suitable provider that can deliver 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/].<br/><br/>The successful provider is an existing provider who 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 up to a further 2 years (at the commissioner's discretion). The maximum value of this service is £2,100,000 in any financial year. The total contract value over the full potential 7 year contract period is estimated to be £14,700,000.<br/><br/>It is expected that this contract will be managed on an open book basis, meaning that the provider will share detailed financial information with the Commissioner for the duration of the contract and will be reimbursed based on actual cost (within the maximum contract value of £2.1m in any financial year). <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/>Providers are also expected to ensure that waiting lists are reduced to manageable levels over the lifetime of the contract, and waiting list reduction targets will be set through the procurement process.<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/><br/>Please note the service specification will change during the life of the contract, and providers will be expected to deliver the new specification.<br/><br/>A key feature of the delivery model is the placement of several (~6 at ~0.3WTE) medical professionals with a specialist interest in gender (such as GPs or General Endocrinologists supervised by an Adult Gender Service clinician) across the region. These professionals will work to a central service hub and be directly employed by the commissioned provider. They will 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 medical professionals would not initially assume direct responsibility for prescribing or providing clinical intervention to individual service users, those 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.

Lot 1 Status: cancelled

Lot 1 Has Options: Yes

Lot 1 Options: There is an option to extend for up to a further two year period following the initial five year contract period.

Lot 1 Award Criterion (cost): most suitable provider process with regard to the key criteria

Raw Notice JSON

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        "description": "The intention is to award a contract under the Most Suitable Provider process which has identified the most suitable provider that can deliver 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/].\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe successful provider is an existing provider who 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.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe 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\u2019s learning from the evaluation of the pilot has informed the future delivery model for the proposed service.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe 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 up to a further 2 years (at the commissioner\u0027s discretion). The maximum value of this service is \u00a32,100,000 in any financial year. The total contract value over the full potential 7 year contract period is estimated to be \u00a314,700,000.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eIt is expected that this contract will be managed on an open book basis, meaning that the provider will share detailed financial information with the Commissioner for the duration of the contract and will be reimbursed based on actual cost (within the maximum contract value of \u00a32.1m in any financial year). \u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eExact 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 \u2013 but possibly multiple \u2013 correlating follow up appointments.\u003cbr/\u003eProviders are also expected to ensure that waiting lists are reduced to manageable levels over the lifetime of the contract, and waiting list reduction targets will be set through the procurement process.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eThe service will have the following objectives:\u003cbr/\u003e\u2022 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\u003cbr/\u003e\u2022 provide a service and pathway delivered in line with the requirements of the national service specification for adult gender services\u003cbr/\u003eThe 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).\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003ePlease note the service specification will change during the life of the contract, and providers will be expected to deliver the new specification.\u003cbr/\u003e\u003cbr/\u003eA key feature of the delivery model is the placement of several (~6 at ~0.3WTE) medical professionals with a specialist interest in gender (such as GPs or General Endocrinologists supervised by an Adult Gender Service clinician) across the region. These professionals will work to a central service hub and be directly employed by the commissioned provider. They will provide support to their local primary care system in the shared care of patients who are under the care of \u2013 or discharged from \u2013 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 medical professionals would not initially assume direct responsibility for prescribing or providing clinical intervention to individual service users, those 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.",
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