Provision of Managed Pathology Services - Preliminary Market Engagement

Tender description

The Lancashire Procurement Cluster ("LPC", "we") are seeking to engage with all suppliers of Pathology Managed Service Solutions on behalf of Lancashire & South Cumbria Pathology Service. The Lancashire & South Cumbria Pathology Service represents four Trusts in the ICS – East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospitals of Morecombe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (together the "Authority"). As a potential supplier you are being invited to contribute to this process. In order to help shape the requirement we are asking that suppliers review this document and then take part in one-to-one engagement sessions. It is the intention of the Authority to publish the Tender Notice in early 2025 under the new Procurement Act 2023. While the Procurement Act is not yet in force, the Authority intends to voluntarily comply with the provisions of the Act with regard to preliminary market engagement. The Procurement Act 2023 (section 16) permits contracting authorities to engage with the market and lists the permitted purposes of such engagement. It requires that contracting authorities take steps to ensure that participating suppliers are not unfairly advantaged, and that competition is not otherwise distorted. The Authority will comply with these provisions to ensure a more effective and efficient procurement process and aims to engage early and widely with the market to allow the latter an opportunity to develop the requirement and procedure. The initial aim of the preliminary market engagement is to make suppliers aware of the upcoming procurement needs for the provision of a Pan-Pathology Managed Service Solution. Further to this we are keen to engage to understand what innovative solutions the market can offer and gain assurance around our requirements.