Veterinary services

Tender description

Provision of veterinary diagnostic and surveillance services, namely Post Mortem Examination (PME) (supported by laboratory testing), as part of an integrated network alongside the Animal and Plant Health Agency's (APHA's) own PME sites (the Veterinary Investigation Centres (VICs)), for farm animals in England and Wales. Defra intends to award eight (8) contracts, on behalf of the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), for the provision of veterinary diagnostic and surveillance services, namely Post Mortem Examination (PME) (supported by laboratory testing), as part of an integrated network alongside APHA’s own PME sites (the Veterinary Investigation Centres), for farm animals in England and Wales. The services required under these contracts include: • alerting APHA to suspicions of notifiable disease, new or re-emerging disease threats (NRT) and animal welfare issues; • participation as part of an extended network of veterinary staff with experience in farm animal disease investigation, diagnosis and pathology, actively engaging in Government surveillance for potential NRT in farm animals; • day-to-day discussion with Private Vetinary Surgeons (PVS) about disease incidents where specialist advice is needed; • examination of animal carcases with the objective of diagnosing disease; • collection and reporting of data from PME and disease investigations of animals for the purpose of accumulation of surveillance intelligence. The contracts are planned to start on 1 January 2021 and run for three (3) years with a period of up to twenty-four (24) months extension. (The value on this notice covers the full 5-year period.) This notice advises that APHA has decided to award contracts with the named providers on a direct award basis, and is published for reasons of transparency.