Award of Dental Electronic Referral System (DERS) Across South East England

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NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit awarded a contract to NEC Software Solutions UK Limited for the Dental Electronic Referral System (DERS) across the South East.

DERS is a cloud-based end-to-end digital software system that enables the patient journey from General Dental Services into specialist services, forming an essential part of the NHS dental system.

The system provides clinicians with a single mechanism to refer patients requiring specialist and specialised NHS dental services, improves referral quality to support effective triage, enables patients to access care most suited to their needs, improves referral process efficiency, provides accurate referral information for clinical service evaluation and development, and achieves value for money.

The contract was procured via the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Framework RM6259 Vertical Application Solutions - Lot 2 'Education, Community Health and Social Care Solutions' through a further competition, with thirty-two approved providers contacted prior to the ITT publication.

The contract covers Hampshire & Isle of Wight, Frimley (Rushmoor, Hart, Bracknell Forest, Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead), Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West, and Dorset.

The contract started on 01/02/2025, was awarded on 10/03/2025, and has a term of 2 years with an extension option for any period up to a further 2 years.

The contract value for the initial 2-year term is £1,374,400, and inclusive of 2 extension years is £2,748,800.

A voluntary 10-day standstill period was observed prior to award.