NHSEI seeks Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from providers who have the capability and capacity (to be assessed as part of an eventual procurement/selection process) to deliver services for individuals on the NHS pathway of care for the treatment of gender dysphoria in the Southwest region of England in line with the National Specification for Services: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/service-specification-gender-identity-services-for-adults-non-surgical-interventions/ In June 2021 the NHSEI commissioning group held the Gender Identity Service Transformation SPRINT Workshop.

The workshop highlighted the challenges that gender dysphoria services face in the region and the need for a new framework of services to be commissioned by April 2023.

A prospectus supporting this market engagement is also attached for information.

We highly recommend that all parties read the prospectus in full when registering their interest.

Additionally, the high level objectives of the proposed framework are provided in a separate attachment.

The contract term will potentially be 7 years with an option to extend for a further period at commissioner discretion.

The approximate contract envelope at this stage is £3m per annum, making an estimated contract value for the proposed 7-year period of £21m.

The contract is due to commence no later than April 2023, though this may change.

As a next step, NHSEI now seek to identify any potential providers including NHS Organisations, primary care sector providers such as General Practitioners (GP), Gender Identity Clinics (GIC) and any Voluntary Community and Social Enterprises (VCSE) in the Southwest of England and understand the nature of their services and interest.

To help us understand this, we request that all parties registering interest complete the attached Market Engagement Questionnaire.

This information will then be used to inform the early development of the NHSEI commissioning strategy and procurement process.

Details on how to register an EOI are provided below.

This PIN as a call for competition is initially published as a notice for expressions of interest.

The Commissioner may then choose to proceed directly to a procurement process with parties who have responded to the notice and in this circumstance, there shall be no further notice published.

Should NHSE/I proceed to a procurement process it is anticipated to consist of two stages: Stage 1 is a shortlisting stage; the aim of this shortlisting stage is predominantly to test the capability and capacity of potential Providers and to identify whether there is more than one capable provider.

Stage 2 will either be: (a) a competitive process (if more than one capable provider is identified at Stage 1) which may involve dialogue and will involve assessment of bids against published evaluation criteria and weightings; or (b) a collaborative "Assurance Process" with a single provider (if only one capable provider is identified at Stage 1).