NHS Mid & South Essex ICB is looking to appoint a provider for an integrated community dermatology service, to include teledermatology and support improvements by helping ensure that patients are seen by the right person at the right time, on the correct pathway.
The service aims to introduce a single point of access for service users and referring clinicians that can stream users to the relevant pathway. It should support self-care for users and provide digital tools, advice, management plans and onward signposting to wider services, and deliver follow-up care via a patient-initiated model with use of telephone, virtual, face-to-face and supported self-care methods. Other requirements include “robust” management of pathways with utilisation of a patient tracking system; provision of access to specialist advice and guidance; implementation of shared decision-making throughout the pathway; and provision of clinical leadership and case management, supporting coordinated care.
The opportunity is worth a reported £41,230,073, with the contract is set to run from May 2026 to April 2030. The ICB notes potential to extend for a further two years.
The deadline to apply is 21 November at 5:30pm; find out more here.
Procurement opportunities and contracts
Last week HTN shared how the London Borough of Enfield published a tender notice worth an estimated £13,605,228 over a nine-year period, highlighting intention to appoint up to five providers to deliver prevention and early intervention services.
Also last week, we reported how NHS Scotland extended its £4 million contract with Medtronic for a colon capsule endoscopy managed service including video upload and analysis along with the creation of a electronic reports.
We highlighted United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’s announcement of the preferred supplier for its EPR, subject to contract and approval of full business case; and covered the news that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB plans to deliver a digital front door to act as a single entry point to services.
Dermatology: the wider trend
We previously explored the results of a teledermatology pilot at Barts Health NHS Trust which saw patients deemed to be lower risk seen by the medical photography team for their first appointment to have photos of skin lesions taken and reviewed, with consultant review for all images; reports indicated that around 94 percent of people with suspected skin cancer were seen within two weeks at Whipps Cross Hospital.
We also noted Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust’s launch of a dermatology service designed to offer services remotely to patients across community hospitals in Cornwall.
