Sustainable Healthcare Waste Management and Minimisation Services

Tender description

2gether Support Solutions Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary company of East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, (“2gether’s Procurement services”) is working with Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Medway Community Healthcare CIC, and Medway NHS Foundation Trust (collectively known as the Southeast NHS Total Waste Consortium, the "Consortium") is issuing an Invitation To Tender ("ITT") in connection with a competitive procurement for Sustainable Healthcare Waste Management and Minimisation Services (the “Services”).<br/><br/>The Consortium’s waste strategy aims to improve waste management practices and make them more efficient and sustainable, to save on cost, improve hospital function, and reduce the impact on the environment in line with NHS net zero carbon commitments. Whilst making efficiency savings in this area of expenditure is significantly important to the Consortium, other service delivery improvements are also required, including reducing the overall barriers to entry to encourage greater interest and competition from the market – irrespective of Bidder size, niche ability or differing service model offering. Lot 1: Clinical Hazardous & Non-Hazardous Healthcare Waste In accordance with legislation and waste regulation, the collection, transportation and disposal of clinical hazardous & non-hazardous healthcare waste, including infectious waste, pathological waste, pharmaceutical waste and offensive/hygiene waste.<br/><br/>Clinical Waste is defined as:<br/><br/>a. “…any waste which consists wholly or partly of human or animal tissue, blood or other body fluids, excretions, drugs or other pharmaceutical products, swabs or dressings, syringes, needles or other sharp instruments, being waste which unless rendered safe, may prove hazardous to any person coming into contact with it; and<br/><br/>b. any other waste arising from medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, pharmaceutical or similar practice, investigation, treatment, care, teaching or research, or the collection of blood for transfusion, being waste which may cause infection to any person coming into contact with it.”<br/><br/>(Clauses 4.7 and 4.8, Environment and Sustainability Health Technical Memorandum 07-01: Safe management of healthcare waste.) Lot 4: Confidential Healthcare Waste In accordance with relevant legislation and waste regulation, the storage, collection and final disposal of confidential healthcare waste. Waste minimisation and incorporated recycling systems as well as on-site and off-site shredding services may also included. The successful Bidder must be able to carry out a start to end process of the collection and destruction of confidential waste compliantly and securely. Lot 3: Domestic and Recyclable Healthcare Waste In accordance with relevant legislation and waste regulation, the collection, transportation, disposal and appropriate recycling of domestic, general and miscellaneous healthcare waste (mixed municipal waste from healthcare and related sources that is the same as, or similar to, black-bag domestic waste from domestic households), which may also include food waste, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) recycling, safe and secure disposal of IT equipment and other assets, bulky waste and provision of multi-sized skips / compactors. Lot 2: Reusable sharps The provision of a safe, sustainable and compliant managed solution for the implementation, supply, collection, return and cleaning of reusable sharps containers.<br/><br/>In accordance with legislation and waste regulation, the storage, collection, treatment and return of sharps containers and clinical waste containers generated by the Contracting Authority. Used containers shall be treated and reassembled in order to be re-used. Lot 5: Total Healthcare Waste Management In accordance with legislation and waste regulation, and in addition to the supply, and management of bins, skips, compactors and training in relation to healthcare waste segregation, a Total Healthcare Waste Management Managed Service and other services (commonly known as Total Healthcare Waste Management) shall include the supply, management, transportation and disposal of all healthcare waste streams, for example, domestic waste, hazardous waste, clinical waste including sharps, medical sharps disposal, (single and/or reusable containers), feminine hygiene and washroom services, confidential waste disposal and destruction, IT Equipment disposal and destruction, food waste disposal, metals disposal and recycling, including single use instruments. Additional information: Bidders are not invited to submit a Tender for Lot 5. <br/><br/>Instead, where a Bidder has tendered for each individual Lot #1, #2, #3 and #4, 2gether’s Procurement services will combine the scores achieved to establish a calculated Lot #5 overall score.