Public procurement notice: Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency Notice
Published: 2021-02-09
Buyer: Luftambulansetjenesten HF/v Sykehusinnkjøp HF
Country: NO
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Contract award without prior publication
CPV classification: 33100000 | 34114121 | 34711100: Fixed-wing aircraft | 34711110 | 34711300: Unmanned aerial vehicles
Estimated value: 370000000 NOK

Technical requirements: Luftambulansetjenesten HF (the Air Ambulance Services) intends to expand the existing contract with Babcock Scandinavian AirAmbulance AS (BSAA) to include operation of one ambulance jet plane and associated medical outfit and material that can be on standby for transport of patients with high-risk infection under the rescEU program. The air ambulance plane will be part of the national Air Ambulance Services when it is not on EU assignments.
The procurement includes a complete operation equivalent to the other seven air ambulance bases, including operation of ambulance jet plane, staffing, maintenance, emergency preparedness, equipment, training, etc. The jet plane must have the same quality and safety level as other bases. The procurement will follow the same period as the contract for other air ambulance bases, up to and including 30 June 2025 with an option to extend for 2 years + 3 years.
See the tender documentation, which formed the basis for the existing contract for general requirements for the type of craft, see point 1.3.6 for the definition jet plane:
The procurement will follow the same period as the contract for other air ambulance bases, up to and including 30 June 2025 with an option to extend for 2 years + 3 years.
Luftambulansetjenesten HF has a contract with BSAA for ambulance plane services in Norway. The contract includes seven air ambulance bases, including procurement and operation of planes, staffing, maintenance, emergency preparedness, equipment, training etc. The contract includes 11 dedicated planes, of which nine planes are based at 24 hour or day preparedness at seven bases.
The need to extend the contract is justified by a contract entered into between the Norwegian Directorate of Health and the EU. In order to contribute to the rescEU program for transport of patients with a high risk of infection, it is necessary to expand the existing contract with BSAA (1 July 2019-30 June 2025 with an option for 2 years + 3 years) to include operation of one additional jet plane. Luftambulansetjenesten HF finds reasons to this necessary change in the existing contract based on the PPR § 28-1 d) letter d. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has both increased the need for the resource and narrowed the time perspective for when need to be finished. The jet plane must be operative around the 4
The jet plane will be located in Tromsø on 24 hour emergency preparedness and enter into the national air ambulance service when not assigned for EU missions.
The purpose of the existing air ambulance contract was to establish a general national emergency preparedness of air ambulance services assigned to one operator. The need to expand with one more jet was not predictable when the original procurement was completed in 2016/2017.
The procurement need has therefore changed due to external, unforeseen circumstances. In order to ensure a high level of preparedness for life and health, and commitments to the EU, it is necessary to extend the current contract. The extension of the contract will be with the same high levels of quality and safety. The Air Ambulance services in Norway is coordinated from the Air Traffic Control Centre in Tromsø. The Centre carries out operational control services for all EMS related operations at the current supplier. The Centre is a contracted activity in accordance with the applicable regulations (965/2012) regulated through a Service Level Agreement (SLA). The introduction of a new jet plane from the same supplier will not require establishment of neither a new SLA contract, training of flight coordinators nor a doubling of IT (fleet management tool) and communication systems.
Health personnel to staff the jet plane will be certified and trained according to the routines and procedures of the current operator and the current health personnel. The flight nurses, who are defined as cabin crewmember, undergo training and check-out programs under the auspices of BSAA. The health personnel will be doubled and rotated towards today's aircraft, and it is inappropriate for these to have two operators to deal with. An expansion will contribute to ensure ongoing and continuous quality for the health personnel and requirement for training and re-training will be less comprehensive.
Infrastructure has been established in order to operate on all airports in Norway and contracts are established both for fuel delivery and other services, such as de-icing and ground services. If a new operator is introduced, new contracts must be entered into.
An expansion of the existing contract will secure the start-up, operations, continuation of the current quality and safety level and established systems within the time limits agreed between Norwegian Authorities and EU. The overall nature of the procurement will not be changed and the price increase will not exceed 50 % of the original contract value, which are the requirements for legal change in the PPR § 28-1.
A contract will be entered into at the earliest 10 days after this voluntary ex-ante transparency notice has been published.


Winner: Babcock Scandinavian AirAmbulance AS
Award value: 370000000