Adult Hearing Services (Audiology) provide assessment, rehabilitation, and ongoing support for adults experiencing hearing and communication difficulties. The service includes hearing assessments, access to hearing aids where clinically appropriate, and associated aftercare and support. This Intention to Award Notice is issued in accordance with Regulation 9 (Direct Award Process C) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The procurement relates to the provision of Adult Audiology Services for the population of Staffordshire.

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 standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to decision makers by 09/10/2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR. Written representation can be sent to: [email protected] Details of the award decision makers: NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent ICB and NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB Joint Commissioning Working Group (CWG) on 19/08/2026. Details of declared conflicts or potential conflicts of interest of individuals making the decision and how these were managed: No conflicts of interest were declared by any members of the ICBs Joint Commissioning Working Group. Relative importance of the key criteria that the relevant authority used to make a decision, the rationale for the relative importance of the key criteria, and the rationale for choosing the provider with reference to the key criteria: Equal weighting and prioritisation were given to each of the key criteria as all key criteria are deemed to be of equal importance when considering the direct award. Based on the key criteria the provider was deemed to be delivering the service to a satisfactory standard and would likely continue to deliver the service to a satisfactory standard during the period covered for this award. A basic selection criterion was applied to assess the providers suitability, financial and economic standing, and technical and professional ability.

This Intention to Award Notice is issued in accordance with Regulation 9 (Direct Award Process C) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The procurement relates to the provision of Adult Audiology Services for the population of Staffordshire. NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (SSoT ICB) currently holds a contract with Outside Clinic Limited for the provision of Adult Audiology Services. This service provides assessment, rehabilitation, and ongoing support for adults experiencing hearing and communication difficulties. The service includes hearing assessments, the provision of hearing aids where clinically appropriate, and associated aftercare and support. The SSoT ICB is satisfied that the existing provider will likely satisfy the requirements of the proposed contract and that the requirements for the provision of healthcare services are not changing considerably. As such, the proposed arrangements do not meet the considerable change threshold set out in Regulation 6(10) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The intention is to award a contract to Outside Clinic Limited, the existing provider. The contract period will be one year, commencing on 1 October 2026 and expiring on 30 September 2027. This is a zero-value contract with payments based on activity and locally agreed prices. The estimated contract value for the one-year contract period is £10,000.00.

Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)

Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition 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 standstill period begins on the day after the publication of this notice. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by 09/10/2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.

Lot 1: Bids: 1