The community dermatology service is currently delivered by Mayflower Healthcare Alliance (MHA). This contract was passed to Essex ICB from NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB as part of the ICB reorganisations in April 2026. It provides community-based dermatology services for the local population. Mayflower Healthcare Alliance has an established role in delivering dermatology care, supporting timely access to specialist assessment and treatment outside of the acute setting. This contract focuses on the delivery of community dermatology services, helping to manage patient demand closer to home and reducing pressures on secondary care providers where clinically appropriate. The service forms part of the wider dermatology pathway and works collaboratively with acute providers to ensure patients requiring specialist or hospital-based interventions are referred appropriately. The commissioning responsibility for this contract transferred to Essex ICB as part of the ICB reorganisation in April 2026. The contract is indicative and based on the 26/27 activity and for the purposes of clarity the value will be subject to the national inflator/deflator calculations. The relevant authority determined that Direct Award Process C applies because Mayflower Healthcare Alliance is the existing provider, the existing contract is due to end, the proposed contracting arrangements are not changing considerably, and the provider is satisfying the existing contract and is likely to satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard.

The community dermatology service is currently delivered by Mayflower Healthcare Alliance (MHA). This contract was passed to Essex ICB from NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB as part of the ICB reorganisations in April 2026. It provides community-based dermatology services for the local population. Mayflower Healthcare Alliance has an established role in delivering dermatology care, supporting timely access to specialist assessment and treatment outside of the acute setting. This contract focuses on the delivery of community dermatology services, helping to manage patient demand closer to home and reducing pressures on secondary care providers where clinically appropriate. The service forms part of the wider dermatology pathway and works collaboratively with acute providers to ensure patients requiring specialist or hospital-based interventions are referred appropriately. The commissioning responsibility for this contract transferred to Essex ICB as part of the ICB reorganisation in April 2026. The contract is indicative and based on the 26/27 activity and for the purposes of clarity the value will be subject to the national inflator/deflator calculations. The relevant authority determined that Direct Award Process C applies because Mayflower Healthcare Alliance is the existing provider, the existing contract is due to end, the proposed contracting arrangements are not changing considerably, and the provider is satisfying the existing contract and is likely to satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard. The providers have been assessed against the criteria specified for this DAP C process: Quality & Innovation 40%. Quality should be the primary consideration because community dermatology is a specialist clinical service that requires accurate assessment, diagnosis, treatment and referral within an agreed clinical pathway. The service must consistently deliver safe, evidence-based care, provide timely access to specialist dermatology expertise, ensure appropriate triage and management of referrals, and support patients to manage long-term skin conditions closer to home. High-quality delivery is directly linked to improved patient outcomes, reduced waiting times, increased patient satisfaction, and a reduction in unnecessary referrals to secondary care, ensuring specialist acute services are reserved for patients with the most complex needs. Value 30%. It is a statutory duty to ensure the best use of public resources, therefore value has the second highest weighting Integration, Collaboration & Service Sustainability 15%, It is essential for good collaboration between provider, primary and secondary care Access Health Inequalities and Choice 10%; Access to community services are important to ensure not all patients are referred into an acute setting where appropriate Social Value 5%. Although the main focus of the specialist fertility service is to provide healthcare, a weighting of 5% has been allocated to reflect the ICB priority towards the importance of social value Key criteria were specified, and assessment against each criterion was assessed based as above and on the current service delivery model and performance. and the supplier meets all the requirements specified to the satisfaction of the ICB, and it is expected that they will satisfy the requirements of the new contract. NHS Essex Integrated Care Board (the Authority) intends to award a contract for the provision of Tier II Dermatology Services to the existing provider named above following Direct Award Process C under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.