Award

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

NHS ENGLAND

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

02 Mar 2026 at 11:38

Summary of the contracting process

NHS England is overseeing the procurement process for the East of England Gender Dysphoria Service for Adults (non-surgical), aimed at delivering health services within this region. The procurement process, under the status of award, utilises the Most Suitable Provider (MSP) method for service delivery. This contract, complete in status, anticipates services starting on 1 April 2026, following the conclusion of a funded pilot in March. The process falls outside the scope of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 but adheres to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. Targeting non-surgical interventions, the contract term spans five years with a potential two-year extension, valued up to £14,700,000 over seven years. Providers need to maintain a high service quality in line with NHS service specifications, with explicit goals to reduce waiting lists effectively and manage approximately 400 new referrals yearly.

This tender presents substantial growth opportunities for businesses that specialise in healthcare services, particularly those with expertise in gender dysphoria treatment delivery. The procurement is well-suited for large organisations that can offer a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, ideally already accustomed to working in primary care settings. Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been identified as the intended supplier, highlighting a strong position for existing providers within the region. Organisations capable of setting up clinical teams and hubs with clinicians experienced in gender care, and possessing the capacity to manage extensive patient pathways and assessments, will find this tender meets a robust demand in a specialised service area. Opportunities to achieve enhanced competencies through post-graduate credentials further present beneficial prospects for long-term engagement and expertise in the field.

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How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

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

Notice 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.

Lot Information

Lot 1

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/].

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.

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.

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 PS2,100,000 in any financial year. The total contract value over the full potential 7 year contract period is estimated to be PS14,700,000.

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 PS2.1m in any financial year).

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.
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.

The service will have the following objectives:
* 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
* provide a service and pathway delivered in line with the requirements of the national service specification for adult gender services
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).

Please note the service specification will change during the life of the contract, and providers will be expected to deliver the new specification.

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.

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

Procurement Information

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. The standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by midnight on Thursday 12th March 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-065f60
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/018360-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85100000 - Health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£14,700,000 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
2 Mar 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
17 Feb 20263 weeks ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS ENGLAND
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 8UG
Post Town
South East London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI45 Lambeth
Delivery Location
TLH East (England)

Local Authority
Lambeth
Electoral Ward
Waterloo & South Bank
Westminster Constituency
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE HEALTHCARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST 1

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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