North of England Commissioning Support (NECS) is a commissioning support service hosted by NHS England and is managing a future procurement process for the provision of a Diabetic Eye Screening Programme in Greater Manchester for and on behalf of Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership (the Commissioner).

The Commissioner is issuing this notice to alert and pre-notify the market of this future tender opportunity for Diabetic Eye Screening Programme in Greater Manchester covering 2 Lots: Lot 1 Greater Manchester North estimated annual value 2 200 000 GBP x 3 years + 1 year Lot 2 Greater Manchester South estimated annual value 2 200 000 GBP x 3 years + 1 year.

The aim of the service is to reduce the risk of sight loss amongst people with diabetes by the prompt identification and effective treatment if necessary of sight threatening diabetic retinopathy, at the appropriate stage during the disease process.

This will be achieved by delivering evidence-based, and population-based screening programmes that: - identify the eligible population and ensure effective delivery with maximum coverage - are safe, effective, of a high quality, externally and independently monitored, and quality assured - lead to earlier detection, appropriate referral, effective treatment and improved outcomes - are delivered and supported by suitably trained, competent, and qualified, clinical and non-clinical staff who, where relevant, participate in recognised on-going Continuing Medical Education (CME), Continuous Professional Development (CPD), and Quality Assurance (QA) schemes - have audit embedded in the service.

The Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 as amended by the Collective Redundancies and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Amendment) Regulations 2014(TUPE) will apply to this contract.

Bidders are advised to form their own view on whether TUPE applies, obtaining their own legal advice and carrying out due diligence.

It is anticipated that a Contract Notice will be published in OJEU and Contracts Finder in September 2017inviting suitably qualified and interested individuals/organisations to express their interest in the tender opportunity.

It is anticipated that any resulting contract will be for an initial period of 3 years (from the commencement date) with the option to extend the contract by a further 1 year at the discretion of the Commissioner and subject to satisfactory financial and contractual performance.

It is important to note that this Prior Information Notice is not a call for competition and as such you will need to express your interest in any future tender opportunity once the Contract Notice is published in OJEU and Contracts Finder in September 2017.

NECS will be utilising an e-Tendering portal to manage a future tender as such potential bidders will need to register on the portal: The PROACTIS e-Tendering portal can be found at: https://www.proactisplaza.com/SupplierPortal/?CID=NECS