Health and social work services

Tender description

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (AGCSU) on behalf of NHS England is inviting suitably qualified and experienced providers in the North of England to provide a highly specialised service, Vein of Galen Malformation Service as a secondary, emergency provider for England and Scotland. NHS England previously commissioned this service from two centres (GOSH and Glasgow). The centre in Glasgow has ceased to provide the service. For service continuity purposes, NHS England needs to rapidly secure an interim second centre for national emergency cover only in the event that the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) service is not available, in advance of a future re-procurement of the whole service. This interim contract is to cover for the period during which a full procurement for the whole service takes place in 2017/2018. The contract duration is for 14 months (01.2.2017 — 31.3.2018), with the option to extend for a further 6 months (30.9.2018). Vein of Galen Malformation (VOGM) is an arteriovenous malformation which is too deep for neurosurgery and typically results in high output cardiac failure. Treatment is by interventional radiology using glue to occlude the feeder artery. It is a very high risk procedure but in severe cases there is no other treatment option. Outcome monitoring is complex due to small numbers and varying severity at presentation. Treatment outcomes monitored include overall survival, morbidity and developmental assessment. The patient group is paediatric, with the age group ranging from new-born babies to age five, with children typically having between one to three embolisations in the first year of life and up to two more up to age five’.