Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2016-03-26
Buyer: Airedale NHS Foundation Trust
Country: UK
Region: Bradford
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Restricted procedure
CPV classification: 38000000 | 38434500 | 38434520 | 38434540 | 38434550
Estimated value: 60000000 GBP
Submission deadline: 2016-04-29
Award criteria: The most economic tender

Technical requirements: Airedale NHS Foundation Trust (‘ANHSFT’) is the contracting authority on behalf of Integrated Laboratory Solutions LLP, (the ‘Laboratory LLP’) created in February 2016 as a collaboration between Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (‘BTHFT’) and ANHSFT in order to deliver fully integrated pathology services to ANHSFT, BTHFT and surrounding communities. ANHSFT is seeking a contractor to provide a Fully Managed Pathology Service contract (the ‘Contract’). The Contract includes (but is not limited to) the procurement and supply of pathology equipment (analysers, laboratory tracking and sample management systems, associated software, reagents, consumables and associated small scale equipment) to undertake a range of tests that meet the performance and availability requirements, the provision of user training and expert safety management, the supply of on-going managed equipment maintenance, replacement and renewal to ensure required performance and availability outcomes are achieved providing a high quality cost-effective fully accredited and regulatory compliant pathology service.
The Procurement will be undertaken in two key phases, Phase 1 will be primarily focused on ensuring a pathology service is available to meet the needs of BTHFT by the installation and implementation of suitable equipment, IT connectivity and interfacing plus all ancillary services mainly on the BTHFT site, with all enabling works, equipment and method validation and verification and all training ready for anticipated go-live on or about 1.1.2017. Within phase 1 there will also be the requirement to provide certain modalities on the ANHSFT site. From go-live of phase 1 it is a requirement that the proposed solutions on the BTHFT site provides harmonisation of common basic technology, test methodology, software, IT connectivity and provides equivalency of results with existing solutions already in-situ on ANHSFT site. Phase 2 is the longer term 3-5 year incorporation of ANHSFT activity not included at phase 1 and on expiry of legacy contracts leading to complete integration of workforce, IT infrastructure equipment and results output.
During the term of the resulting contract, the Laboratory LLP reserves the right to make any necessary changes to the service to reflect any changes within the Trusts.
Suppliers interested in providing the service must either be capable of providing a complete service with scalable flexibility and the capacity and willingness to work with, and fully manage, any third party suppliers. ANHSFT wishes to award a single Contract for the service.
The Contract will be for a period of 15 years with an option for the LLP to extend the Contract up to a further 5 years.
This is a procurement process for services categorised as Social and Other Specific Services for the purposes of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (the ‘Regulations’). Bidders will be required to submit their shortlisting information (referred to as ‘stage 1 evaluation’ in the Invitation to Tender) and their tenders (referred to as the ‘stage 2 evaluation which is made up of the Pricing Response, Quality and Technical Response and Legal Template as detailed in the Invitation to Tender) at the same time — please refer to the Invitation to Tender for more details. The reference to the restricted procedure in section IV.1.1) is on the basis that ANHSFT will only score the tenders of the Bidders who have submitted the four highest scoring responses in Stage 1 (the shortlisting information). ANHSFT reserves the right to vary the process as may be required by ANHSFT including introduction of dialogue, negotiation and further short-listing. Such flexibility is permitted with respect to procurement for Social and Other Specific Services and ANHSFT shall be bound by the Regulations only to the extent that they apply to contracts for Social and Other Specific Services.
ANHSFT is the contracting authority on behalf of Integrated Laboratory Solutions LLP, (the “Laboratory LLP”) created in February 2016 as a new collaboration between BTHFT and ANHSFT. ANHSFT and BTHFT have also set up a second LLP, Integrated Pathology Solutions LLP (the “Pathology LLP”) which will deliver fully integrated clinical pathology services back to ANHSFT and BTHFT as well as other customers in surrounding communities.
It will be the Laboratory LLP that enters into the Contract with the successful Bidder in this procurement process. The Laboratory LLP is currently equally owned and controlled by ANHSFT and BTHFT and, in turn, it will provide services to Pathology LLP which is also equally owned and controlled by ANHSFT and BTHFT. Pathology LLP will deliver clinical pathology services to ANHSFT, BTHFT and other customers in surrounding communities.
The high level aim is for the provision of a fully managed pathology service provision to the Laboratory LLP for the sites at ANHSFT and BTHFT in a proposed service reconfiguration to create a “Hub” and “Spoke”.
In the future, other NHS Bodies (as defined in the NHS Act 2006) may join, either, Laboratory LLP and Pathology LLP and also benefit from the service provision from both LLPs. Accordingly, but in any event, the Contract that is the subject of this OJEU notice will have the ability to be varied to (1) reflect changes in test activity volumes (increases and decreases); (2) reflect changes in the types and repertoire of tests to be delivered and (3) reflect the need for new and different equipment throughout the term of the Contract plus any associated estates interface and/or laboratory enabling works that are required as a result of any such changes including variations to the currently anticipated Hub and Spoke model.
Due to the ongoing provision of services under legacy contracts at ANHSFT and to create a Hub and Spoke, plus the requirement for inter-site backup testing and staff flexibility, the service under the Contract is expected to produce test results that are comparable to current laboratory method principles at ANHSFT. This does not prescribe identical equipment on each site but the equipment on both ANHSFT and BTHFT sites must use common basic technology, software and provide equivalence of results.
Current methods are detailed in the Invitation to Tender documentation and Bidders must either confirm full compliance or indicate any points of variance and explain how any material difference in method or output tolerance will be managed within their proposed solutions.
Enabling works will be required at BTHFT prior to the commencement of Phase 1 of the Contract (as described in section II.1.4) of this OJEU notice) and at ANHSFT in the form of an extension of the existing pathology department and associated utilities and support services within the Financial Year 2016-17. For the purposes of the evaluation of tenders, Bidders will be required to factor into their costs the requirement for the provision of such an extension at ANHSFT with a fixed anticipated outlay of GBP1.65 million inclusive of VAT and all related costs in a turn-key solution. Further information is set out in the Invitation to Tender documentation.
Tenders and all supporting documentation for the Contract must be priced in sterling and written in English. Any agreement entered into will be considered a contract made in England according to English law and will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts. ANHSFT is not liable for any costs, charges or expenses incurred by those expressing an interest in and/or tendering for this contract opportunity. ANHSFT reserves the right to terminate the procurement process (or part of it), to change the basis of and the procedures for the procurement process at any time or to procure the subject matter of the contract by alternative means if it appears that it can be more advantageously procured by alternative means. The most economically advantageous tender or any tender will not automatically be accepted.
Save in relation to the proposed Contract (Document 3), Bidders can access the ITT and related documents by following the steps below:

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Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents. Included within procurement documents.
Selection criteria as stated in the procurement documents.
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