Public procurement notice: Contract Award Notice
Published: 2021-01-25
Buyer: Health Service Executive (HSE)
Country: IE
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Negotiated without a prior call for competition
CPV classification: 72220000: Systems and technical consultancy services
Estimated value: 8200000 EUR
Award criteria: Lowest price

Technical requirements: The HSE has awarded contracts for the provision of operational services to the HSE Covid-19 laboratory task force and testing and tracing functions.
Confirmation by the WHO of Covid-19 as a global pandemic in March 2020 caused worldwide demand for PPE and laboratory testing capacity to reach unprecedented levels, triggering severe disruption to global supply chains. This presented the HSE with a number of extraordinary challenges requiring substantial outside expertise and support to rapidly develop and implement testing and contact tracing.
In these circumstances, a procurement following the usual timescales under Directive 2014/24/EU, including accelerated options, was impossible as it would not meet the service’s needs and would put lives at risk. In line with the European Commission’s Communication (2020/C 108 I/01) (the ‘Communication’) published on 1 April 2020, the HSE used the negotiated procedure without prior publication in accordance with Article 32(2)(c) of Directive 2014/24/EU to award this contract.
The HSE engaged with existing consultancy service providers and personnel suppliers and identified two suppliers capable of providing the operational services required: Deloitte provided operational support to the Covid-19 laboratory capacity taskforce within the HSE and EY provided operational support for the Covid-19 contact tracing team. EY in particular developed in conjunction with the HSE a long term operational model for contact tracing.
The HSE is satisfied the tests permitting use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication (Article 32(2)(c)) were met, as set out below.
The services contracts are proportionate to the HSE’s needs in line with WHO guidance and are not a long-term supply arrangement.
The HSE was responding to Covid-19 immediately because of public health risks presenting a genuine emergency.
As per the communication, ‘The specific needs for hospitals, and other health institutions to provide treatment, personal protection equipment, ventilators, additional beds, and additional intensive care and hospital infrastructure, including all the technical equipment could, certainly, not be foreseen and planned in advance, and thus constitute an unforeseeable event for the contracting authorities.’ The need for the services could not have been foreseen by the HSE.
As per the communication, ‘It cannot be doubted that the immediate needs of the hospitals and health institutions (supplies, services and public works) have to be met with all possible speed.’ The HSE required the rapid deployment of outside expertise to assist with its development of contact tracing and laboratory testing capacity. As scientific understanding of COVID-19 advanced the HSE had to rapidly adjust its strategies to deal with the disease, and these contracts are a stopgap solution.
The HSE acted proportionately and without delay in its response to Covid-19. As documented above, the pandemic presented a serious risk to human life and the HSE reallocated as many staff as possible to provide support to contact tracing operations. Longer term operational consultancy contracts will be tendered by the HSE.


Winner: Deloitte Ireland
Award value: 8200000
Number of bids: 1