Pathology services

Tender description

The partner organisations are offering a contract to the successful Bidder to provide pathology services with a view to building capability and capacity in modern pathology laboratories to provide patients, general practice and the Trust access to the very best pathology service and meet future demand. The partner organisations are seeking to support the commissioning of the highest value and quality services that meet national and clinical guidance, that support the delivery of national targets, deliver financial efficiencies and deliver continuous service improvement. NHS Brent CCG, NHS Harrow CCG and London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWUHT), hereafter referred to as the “Partner Organisations”, have a requirement to re-procure pathology services. The partner organisations require a turnkey solution including, but not limited to, the provision of: — provision of a wide range of tests appropriate to primary care and secondary care within agreed turnaround times, — provision and maintenance of equipment and estate optimised for high volume centralised and low volume local acute testing, — consumables i.e. blood tubes, and associated packaging etc. for GP practices must be supplied when ordered, — UKAS accreditation (or any replacement accreditation system) across all services provided, — transport of samples from requesting locations to testing locations including GP practices and lab to lab, maintaining sample integrity and validity of results throughout the journey, — quality reporting format together with appropriate governance processes for the management of breaches and incidents, — ability to link in with the NWL Sector ICE system for ordering and reporting tests, — differential pricing structures for Acute Trust and CCGs, — support and implement demand management initiatives as required. The partner organisations have set no constraints regarding how the new service should be delivered e.g. on-site or off-site, point of care or laboratory based, or combinations of these, as long as the specified service standards are met. The contract to be offered to the successful Bidder at the end of this procurement will be for a duration of ten (10) years, which is intended to run from 1.5.2019 or as soon as possible thereafter, with the possibility of two (2) further extensions, the first extension being up to a further two (2) years and the second extension being up to a further one (1) year.