NHS England has published a prior information notice stating its intention to procure a digital solution for end-to-end dental referrals for ICBs in the South West, with the initial scope of the procurement covering Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire; Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire; Cornwall and Isles of Scilly; Devon; and Somerset.
The digital solution needs to be able to integrate with existing systems, and be useable by non-dental professionals who may also need to refer in to dental services. The aim is to improve the dental referral pathway by providing clinicians with a single way of making referrals to primary, secondary or community dental services, giving patients access to dental care in a timely manner, and improving the quality of referrals to support effective triage and treatment.
The chosen solution will support referrals across provider types; reduce inappropriate referrals or referrals with missing information; improve patient and clinical confidence in the referral process; and provide information which can inform patient choice. It will need to have the functionality to enable digital clinical images to be sent securely alongside referrals, and to track referrals in a way which gives providers a live view of all referral status.
Interested suppliers are encouraged to submit a completed provider market engagement questionnaire by 12 noon on 20 November 2023.
To view the prior information notice in full, please click here.
In other news from the region, a prior information notice for a tender worth an estimated £4 million was published by 14 NHS trusts across the South West region, for “a single solution that provides a unified reporting experience for pathology”.
Earlier this year, we took a deep dive into what’s happening in digital across South West’s integrated care systems: Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire; Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire; Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly; Devon; Dorset; Gloucestershire; and Somerset.
