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Primary Care Orthodontic Services

NHS NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK INTEGRATED CARE BOARD

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

10 Sep 2026 at 08:48

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board commissioned primary care orthodontic services for children and young people aged 12 to 18. Patients enter the pathway through their general dental practice, with treatment delivered in primary care settings. The service covers assessment, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of malocclusion and facial deformity, taking account of oral health, patient cooperation, motivation and treatment complexity. It is specialist dental healthcare requiring orthodontic clinical expertise and a stable clinical environment. Delivery is centred on Ipswich and the surrounding Suffolk area. The requirement is intended to support patient oral health and psychosocial wellbeing, equitable access, service integration and longer-term workforce and estate planning. The buyer is NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board, based in Norwich.

The procurement has been awarded through Direct Award Process C under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, using a limited procedure without a prior call for competition. Suffolk Orthodontic Practice was selected as the existing provider; the contract was signed on 24 August 2026 and has a value of £8,740,068. The contract runs for 10 years, from 1 April 2027 to 31 March 2037, with annual payments. One bid was recorded, from an SME. Evaluation was based entirely on quality, with price carrying no weighting. The decision considered quality and innovation, value, integration and sustainability, access and health inequalities, choice, and social value. Representations were due by midnight on 23 September 2026.

This award indicates demand for specialist orthodontic provision for teenagers through NHS primary care, rather than general dental treatment alone. A credible future competitor would need appropriately qualified orthodontic clinicians, capacity to manage referrals from general dental practices, and premises suitable for sustained specialist delivery. The service model favours providers able to maintain safe, effective treatment across different levels of orthodontic complexity while supporting patient cooperation, motivation and oral hygiene. Evidence of reliable performance, service integration and collaboration with the wider healthcare system would be important. Providers would also need to demonstrate equitable access, work to reduce health inequalities, support patient choice and contribute to social value, including environmental improvement and carbon reduction. Workforce recruitment, retention and long-term service planning are central commercial considerations for this buyer.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Primary Care Orthodontic Services

Notice Description

Orthodontics is the dental specialty concerned with facial growth, development of the dentition and occlusion, and the assessment, diagnosis, interception and treatment of malocclusions and facial deformity. Orthodontic treatment should only be undertaken where it is believed to be in the patient's best interests in terms of their oral health and/ or psychosocial wellbeing. The clinical advantages and long-term benefits of Orthodontic treatment should justify and outweigh any detrimental effects. Patient factors to consider include co-operation, motivation and their ability to maintain good oral hygiene. It is not generally in the patient's best interest to deliver orthodontic treatment in the absence of a stable oral environment or where there is evidence of active dental disease. There are several factors used to define orthodontic treatment complexity which can be classified as level 1, 2, 3a or 3b. Factors include the type of malocclusion, technical difficulty in improving function and aesthetics, together with any patient modifying factors.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Primary care orthodontic services for children and young people aged 12 -18 years. Patients are referred into the pathway via their general dental practice. All services take place within a primary care setting. 10 year PDS Agreement contract terms for primary care orthodontic services are motivated by the need to support service stability, workforce sustainability and long term planning, in line with the findings of the Orthodontic Needs Assessment (2026) and wider system pressures. Orthodontic service delivery is dependent on a specialist workforce, with recruitment and retention recognised nationally and locally as challenging. Longer term contract arrangements provide greater certainty for providers, enabling workforce planning and retention of specialist orthodontic clinicians and reduced disruption linked with shorter contract terms. In addition, this will support estates and service investment, particularly where providers are delivering specialist orthodontic care from dedicated premises. A 10-year term offers providers sufficient assurance to invest in infrastructure and incentivises support for service redesign aligned to population need. The length of the contract will be 10 years to start 1 April 2027 and end 31 March 2037. Providers will be paid annually for the period of 10 years. NHS Norfolk and Suffolk Integrated Care Board are awarding the contract named within this notice under the Direct Award C process which is outlined within the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The provider named in this notice is an existing provider and has been reviewed through a Key Criteria assessment to ensure the awarding body is satisfied with current performance and reasonably expects the provider to be able to satisfy the contract which is the subject of this notice. The contract which is the subject of this notice has not changed considerably when compared with the existing contract delivered by the named provider. The ICB may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included

Procurement Information

Other justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union or the Find a Tender Service: The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations. 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 Procurement Act 2023 do not apply to this award. The publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to decision makers by midnight 23rd September 2026 (8 working days following publication of intention to award notice). They should be submitted in writing to nsibc.procurement@nhs.net This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR. Insert Award decision-makers: Dental and Optometry Delivery Group Primary Care Commissioning Group and ratified by the Executive Management Team on 24th August 2026 * No conflicts of interest, or potential conflicts of interest, were declared by any decision makers. The decision to award this contract in line with Direct Award Process C was based on evaluation against the five required key criteria as follows: * Quality and Innovation - Assured - NS ICB are assured that the provider is delivering a safe and effective service as required by the specification and contract they are currently delivering. This criterion was reviewed in line with the Quality Impact Assessment. * Value - Part Assured - NS ICB are assured that the provider is delivering value to the integrated care system and the cost of change would not be outweighed by the potential benefit of a new provider. * Integration, Collaboration and Service Sustainability - Assured - NS ICB are assured that the provider is positively impacting on the integrated care system through their integration and collaboration delivered as a requirement of the specification or alternative elements linked to the delivery. * Improving Access, Reducing Health Inequalities and Facilitating Choice - Assured - NS ICB are assured that the provider is meeting needs of the population to ensure equitable access and choice as required by the specification and contract. This criterion was reviewed in line with the Equality Impact Assessment. * Social Value - Assured - NS ICB are assured that the provider is delivering in line with the NS Green Plan, supporting with the implementation of carbon reduction and increase in initiatives which positively impact on the wider determinants of health. This criterion was reviewed in line with the Sustainability Impact Assessment.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f637
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/085630-2026
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
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85130000 - Dental practice and related services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£8,740,068 £1M-£10M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
10 Sep 20266 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK INTEGRATED CARE BOARD
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
NORWICH
Postcode
NR1 2DH
Postcode Area
Norwich
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH5 Norfolk
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH51 Norwich and East Norfolk
Delivery Location
TLH14 Suffolk CC
Local Authority
Norwich
Electoral Ward
Lakenham
Westminster Constituency
Norwich South

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Suffolk Orthodontic Practice

Further Information

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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