This public procurement record has 12 releases in its history.

AwardUpdate

08 Jul 2026 at 08:30

AwardUpdate

08 Jul 2026 at 08:23

AwardUpdate

08 Jul 2026 at 08:15

AwardUpdate

07 Jul 2026 at 16:57

AwardUpdate

07 Jul 2026 at 16:46

AwardUpdate

07 Jul 2026 at 16:34

AwardUpdate

19 May 2026 at 08:48

AwardUpdate

19 May 2026 at 08:48

AwardUpdate

14 May 2026 at 15:23

AwardUpdate

14 May 2026 at 15:23

Award

16 Oct 2023 at 14:06

Planning

22 Nov 2022 at 10:52

Summary of the contracting process

The public procurement process detailed in the document involves a contract modification for the Multiple Sclerosis Management Service for Children, managed under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) as per the Health Care Services Regulations 2023. This process relates to services classified under the industry category of Health Services (CPV: 85100000) and is organised by NHS England. The contract, with an initial value of £9,853,146 and modifications totalling an additional £2,189,588, extends the existing service by eight months. The procurement spans across three geographical lots: North (North East and Yorkshire, North West), Midlands (Midlands, East of England), and London and the South. The contract status is active, with contracts formally modified and active until 30th November 2026.

This contract presents growth opportunities for health service providers with paediatric neuroinflammatory expertise capable of managing complex multiple sclerosis cases in children. Businesses such as NHS Foundation Trusts and providers within tertiary paediatric neurosciences can leverage existing expertise to support ongoing service provision. The procurement process did not involve prior publication of a call for competition due to the absence of competitive alternatives, directing awards to capable incumbent providers such as Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Providers confident in delivering specialist paediatric care can align with this and similar tenders, potentially scaling operations and expanding market presence through strategic participation in procurement opportunities enabled by NHS frameworks.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Title

Multiple Sclerosis Management Service for Children - Contract Modification

Notice Description

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (AGCSU), on behalf of NHS England Highly Specialised Services (referred to as the Commissioner), is undertaking a market engagement exercise to understand the current and future capacity and capability of providers and potential providers within this highly specialised area. All interested parties, including incumbent providers, are encouraged to register their interest and participate in the market engagement questionnaire which will provide feedback to commissioners. Please note that this is not a call for competition although the commissioner would encourage all potential providers to respond to this market engagement exercise. The outcome of this market engagement will help inform commissioners of the current and future capacity and capability of the market and will be considered to inform the commissioning approach.

Lot Information

Lot 1 - North comprising the NHS England Regions: the North East and Yorkshire; the North West,

The service is currently delivered by 6
providers across the 3 Lots, as follows.
The service will continue for the
duration of this modification.
i) Lot 1 - North comprising the NHS
England Regions: the North East and
Yorkshire; the North West
* Manchester University NHS
Foundation Trust
ii) Lot 2 - the Midlands comprising the
NHS England Regions: the Midlands;
the East of England
* Birmingham Women's and Children's
NHS Foundation Trust
* Cambridge University Hospitals NHS
Foundation Trust
iii) Lot 3 - London and the South:
comprising the South East; the South
West; London
* Great Ormond Street Hospital for
Children NHS Foundation Trust
* Guys & St Thomas' Hospital NHS
Foundation Trust

Lot 2 - the Midlands comprising the NHS England Regions: the Midlands; the East of England

This exercise is to commission a service that is able to expertly manage the provision of the Multiple Sclerosis Management Service for Children, including patients with suspected Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or equally rare 'MS-like', recurrent acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) or who have had a first demyelination episode and have a high risk of relapse which would require a similar treatment approach, including: Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMO, NMOSD) and other AQP4 antibody associated demyelination; Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) antibody associated relapsing demyelination and other forms of recurrent relapsing demyelination. The MS Hub Lead Centres will be geographically spaced across the Regional areas of NHS England as follows: i) Lot 1 - North comprising the NHS England Regions: the North East and Yorkshire; the North West, ii) Lot 2 - the Midlands comprising the NHS England Regions: the Midlands; the East of England iii) Lot 3 - London and the South: comprising the South East; the South West; London We would like to hear from incumbent and potential paediatric providers who can meet the following essential criteria: I. Have staff in place with paediatric neuroinflammatory expertise as listed in the service specification : (https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/multiple-sclerosis-mgt-for-children-sept-2017.pdf); II. Be currently actively managing, as an expert care provider and have seen face to face in the last year, a minimum of 20 children with paediatric Remitting Demyelinating Syndromes (RDS) (including first presentation or first event MS or high risk RDS); III. Be actively prescribing innovative therapeutic pharmacological MS treatments for these children using the NHS England BluTeq online system; IV. Have received in a tertiary capacity for expert review, five to ten new paediatric referrals of acute multiple sclerosis/MS-like cases per year in each of the last three years (2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21. With the requests being for second opinions/advice on the treatment plan. V. Must be an existing provider of tertiary paediatric neurosciences. The anticipated contract period is 3 years. The Commissioner reserves the right to direct award where competition is absent. This notice is to advise incumbent and prospective providers in the market of the commissioner's intention to commission this service and to provide an opportunity to engage with and participate in a market engagement questionnaire. The outcome of this market engagement will help inform commissioners of the current and future capacity and capability of the market and will be considered with other evidence to inform the commissioning approach, Applications may be made jointly where partners can demonstrate appropriate expertise and meet the service criteria set out in the questionnaire and service specification: multiple-sclerosis-mgt-for-children-sept-2017.pdf (england.nhs.uk).. The questionnaire is available through the EU Supply portal: https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=agcsu The reference is 62208 and the closing date for submission of the completed questionnaire will be: 12pm, midday on Tuesday 20th December 2022.

Lot 3 - London and the South: comprising the South East; the South West; London

This exercise is to commission a service that is able to expertly manage the provision of the Multiple Sclerosis Management Service for Children, including patients with suspected Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or equally rare 'MS-like', recurrent acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) or who have had a first demyelination episode and have a high risk of relapse which would require a similar treatment approach, including: Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMO, NMOSD) and other AQP4 antibody associated demyelination; Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) antibody associated relapsing demyelination and other forms of recurrent relapsing demyelination. The MS Hub Lead Centres will be geographically spaced across the Regional areas of NHS England as follows: i) Lot 1 - North comprising the NHS England Regions: the North East and Yorkshire; the North West, ii) Lot 2 - the Midlands comprising the NHS England Regions: the Midlands; the East of England iii) Lot 3 - London and the South: comprising the South East; the South West; London We would like to hear from incumbent and potential paediatric providers who can meet the following essential criteria: I. Have staff in place with paediatric neuroinflammatory expertise as listed in the service specification : (https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/multiple-sclerosis-mgt-for-children-sept-2017.pdf); II. Be currently actively managing, as an expert care provider and have seen face to face in the last year, a minimum of 20 children with paediatric Remitting Demyelinating Syndromes (RDS) (including first presentation or first event MS or high risk RDS); III. Be actively prescribing innovative therapeutic pharmacological MS treatments for these children using the NHS England BluTeq online system; IV. Have received in a tertiary capacity for expert review, five to ten new paediatric referrals of acute multiple sclerosis/MS-like cases per year in each of the last three years (2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21. With the requests being for second opinions/advice on the treatment plan. V. Must be an existing provider of tertiary paediatric neurosciences. The anticipated contract period is 3 years. The Commissioner reserves the right to direct award where competition is absent. This notice is to advise incumbent and prospective providers in the market of the commissioner's intention to commission this service and to provide an opportunity to engage with and participate in a market engagement questionnaire. The outcome of this market engagement will help inform commissioners of the current and future capacity and capability of the market and will be considered with other evidence to inform the commissioning approach, Applications may be made jointly where partners can demonstrate appropriate expertise and meet the service criteria set out in the questionnaire and service specification: multiple-sclerosis-mgt-for-children-sept-2017.pdf (england.nhs.uk).. The questionnaire is available through the EU Supply portal: https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=agcsu The reference is 62208 and the closing date for submission of the completed questionnaire will be: 12pm, midday on Tuesday 20th December 2022.

Procurement Information

Following the PIN notice and market engagement exercise, it was apparent that competition was absent and direct awards have been placed with all capable providers for each of the Lots. The PIN and market engagement documentation clearly stated that commissioners would consider placing direct awards where competition is deemed to be absent following a review of the market engagement responses.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-038737
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/063897-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Planning, Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Planning Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Limited
Procurement Method Details
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85000000 - Health and social work services

85100000 - Health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£34,035,686 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
8 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
12 Jan 2023Expired
Award Date
10 Mar 20233 years ago
Contract Period
1 Apr 2026 - 30 Nov 2026 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Cancelled
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Active

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NHS England
Additional Buyers

NHS England - Specialised Commissioning

Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
LONDON
Postcode
SE1 8UG
Postcode Area
South East London
Country
England

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI4 Inner London - East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI45 Lambeth
Delivery Location
TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England)

Local Authority
Lambeth
Electoral Ward
Waterloo & South Bank
Westminster Constituency
Vauxhall and Camberwell Green

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
8
Supplier Names

Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust

Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust

Guys and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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