Minor Eye Conditions Service (MECS) in West Essex

This Contract Award Notice follows the publication of a Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice in the Find a Tender portal on 18th January 2021 which was intended to provide notice of the Contracting Authority's intention to award a contract for Minor Eye Conditions Services to Primary Eyecare Services (PECS).

West Essex conducted a 12-month pilot of the service, delivered by PECS. PCS are the non-profit organisation of the Essex Local Ophthalmology Community (LOC) through which all optometrist providers within West Essex are associated. The evaluation of the pilot demonstrated significant benefits in using PECS to deliver the services contracting directly to the optometrists given their existing relationships which are crucial to delivering a community pathway successfully.

The service will be for West Essex only initially, however the option is retained for a portion of East and North Hertfordshire patients who use the local Acute Trust to use the service. Should this be agreed the contract will be varied to reflect this.

The proposed contract is for a period of 3-years from 4th May 2021 to 3rd May 2024 with the option to extend for a further 2-years, subject to agreement.

The value stated in this Notice is for the initial 3-year period and is inclusive of costs for the East and North Hertfordshire patients. The 3-year value for West Essex only is £481,587.