Removal of Deceased Persons

Tender description

The geographical jurisdiction of the coroner for Stoke-on Trent and North Staffordshire covers the areas administered by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, the Boroughs of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands and the northern part of Stone (Swynnerton, Barlaston and Fulford). Stoke-on-Trent City Council acts as the lead authority for all local authorities involved. Whilst many persons will die in hospital there are still a great number who die in the wider community, whether at home, at work, in the street or other communal places. Many of these deaths in the community will need to be referred to the coroner and until he can give his permission for the release of the body back to the family for funeral purposes the body will need to be brought to the Public Mortuary at Kingswell Road, Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent. This can be at all times of the day or night, weekends and public holidays, even Christmas Day. It can be a challenging and sometimes unpleasant task, requiring at all times dignity, sensitivity and professionalism. On behalf of the coroner Stoke-on-Trent City Council organises the provision of an undertaker’s service to collect deceased persons and to take them to the Public Mortuary. This provision is in the form of a three year contract which expires on 31st March 2009. Additionally the undertaker appointed would be required periodically to move bodies to and from the local hospitals as well as other hospitals/mortuaries in the West Midlands, and just occasionally further afield. Expressions of interest are invited for the new contract which will run from 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2012. All companies will be required to complete a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ). Returned PQQ's will be assessed and used to select companies to be invited to tender. The successful companies from the pre-qualification exercise will be provided with a full specification of the service required at the tender stage of the procurement process.