A DIABETIC retinopathy programme for Swindon and North Wiltshire is to be taken over by Virgin Care.

The service, called 1st Retinal Screen, has been providing a service to diabetes patients in the area for eight years.

Mike Nelson, from 1st Retinal Screen, said: “The Primary Care Trust began the tendering process in February with 14 expressions of interest from NHS hospitals and private sector providers. “In June we were told we had lost to Virgin Care, mainly on price. At this stage the bid process was legally challenged by another bidder and the whole submission process had to be repeated in July/August.

“This gave us the opportunity to reduce our price but would have to lose money on the contract to get anywhere near Virgin’s offer. We consequently lost the second submission again to Virgin Care but by a much smaller price margin.

“There will now be a gap in service of two to three months before the new provider will be able to start running their new screening service. During this time there will be no screening. It is disappointing to see such slippage in a programme that 1st Retinal Screen has worked very hard over the last eight years to build.”

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