SC23191 Coroner Removals and Transfer Service

Tender description

Coroners are independent judicial officers, appointed by the local authority within the coroner area. Local authorities have a legal obligation to support the work of Coroner’s, to fund all the costs of the service and to provide the necessary resources to enable them to carry out their statutory obligations under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. This includes the provision of appropriate contractual arrangements for the removal of the deceased. For the four Kent coroner areas of Mid Kent & Medway, North-West Kent, North-East Kent and Central & South-East Kent, KCC is the lead authority for the administrative areas of Kent and Medway. KCC is legally responsible for meeting all the costs of the coroner service. Medway Council meets its share of all the costs of the service and the basis for this arrangement is set out in a service level agreement. Coroners investigate deaths that have been reported to them if they have reason to think that: The death was violent or unnatural; The cause of death is unknown; or The deceased died while in prison, police custody or another type of state detention. When a death is reported to the Coroner, he or she: establishes whether an investigation is required; if yes, investigates to establish the identity of the person who has died; how, when, and where they died, and any information to register the death; and uses information discovered during the investigation to assist in the prevention of other deaths where possible. Coroners Removals The coroner may decide that a suitable practitioner (normally a pathologist) is required to examine the deceased and carry out a post-mortem examination to discover the cause of death. In this scenario, the deceased needs to be transported from where it is lying to a designated mortuary for further enquiries to be made (to hold a post-mortem if required). The movement of the deceased to the mortuary constitutes a “Coroners Removal”. In the cases where a post-mortem has been deemed necessary, the deceased needs to be transferred from the location of death to one of the designated post-mortem facilities below; QEQM Hospital, Margate William Harvey Hospital, Ashford Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham Tunbridge Wells Hospital, Pembury Darenth Valley Hospital, Dartford Coroners Transfer In some cases, it is necessary to transfer the deceased from a designated mortuary to another designated mortuary. These transfers can occur locally as a transfer between mortuaries within Kent and Medway but can occur outside of Kent. This is due to the specific expertise that different mortuaries possess (E.g. London mortuary specialises in child deaths, Brighton mortuary specialises in infectious cases etc.) Cases like these where the deceased is transferred between mortuaries are more commonly known as a “Coroners Transfer”. Service Requirements The providers are required to perform the services: 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year; For a coroner’s removal to be at the place of death within 1 hour (75 minutes in Dover CSEK and Sevenoaks) of being directed to attend by Kent County Constabulary; For a transfer, to have completed it within 48 hours of being directed to do so by a Coroner’s Officer; The Procurement Process This procurement is seeking suppliers to deliver both the Coroner Removals and a Coroners Transfer service across Kent and Medway These areas are divided into geographical lot areas. The procurement process will involve multiple stages for tenderers including SQ, ITT and finally an ISFT stage following a negotiation period (if required). At this stage, The Council is seeking Selection Questionnaire responses. The anticipated service commencement date for the new contract is January 1st, which means that mobilisation for the service will occur over December 2024. The Coroners Service will work with your organisation over this period to facilitate a smooth transition into the new contract. Bidder Briefing The Council is offering a Bidder Briefing Session, to be held virtually via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday 3rd July 2024 at 10am. The briefing will provide The purpose of this session is to explain the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) process, and support prospective suppliers to use our e-tendering system, the Kent Business Portal. If you wish to join the briefing, please register at the following address: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3cd8513b-b800-4263-9d6e-79f422a82b00@3253a20d-c735-4bfe-a8b7-3e6ab37f5f90 If you are unable to attend this session, a recording will be made available to all prospective tenderers following the session. Questions can also be raised via the Kent Business Portal. Keywords: funeral, Coroner, Transfer and Removals Service, Mortuary