Award

Managed Services Contract - Medical Biochemistry & Immunology

CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

AwardUpdate

21 Mar 2025 at 09:39

Award

06 Jan 2025 at 11:32

Award

20 Dec 2024 at 16:10

Summary of the contracting process

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board has extended its Managed Services Contract for Medical Biochemistry & Immunology with Abbott Laboratories Limited. This contract, originally initiated in 2010, was recently updated in March 2025 to include a five-year extension due to technical and economic challenges. This extension is necessary to replace ageing equipment and ensure the sustainability of clinical services. The contract value is approximately GBP 99.65 million and will run for a total duration of 1,800 days, located in Cardiff (region UKL22), covering laboratory services within the healthcare sector.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses involved in laboratory equipment and associated services. The extension period allows for comprehensive planning and execution, ensuring the replacement of critical systems with minimal disruption to clinical operations. Companies specialising in laboratory information management systems, biochemistry, and immunology equipment, as well as maintenance services, are well-suited to compete. The controlled timeframe offers a stable environment for market engagement, allowing suppliers to provide innovative solutions that align with the Health Board's strategic needs. Abbott Diagnostics, a large-scale supplier, continues to be pivotal in maintaining service standards.

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Notice Title

Managed Services Contract - Medical Biochemistry & Immunology

Notice Description

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CVUHB) currently operate a Managed Service Contract with Abbot Diagnostics that covers Biochemistry and Immunology equipment , maintenance and related consumable.. This contract was awarded with commencement 1st April 2010 following an OJEU Competitive Dialogue procurement exercise for an initial term of 7 years to 31st March 2017, with the option to extend at the Health Boards discretion for a further 8 years until 31st March 2025, all extension options have been exhausted

Lot Information

Lot 1

Tender Process timing - To ensure that the appropriate level of detail and due diligence is applied to any future tender it is has been established that a five-year extension to the current contract would be necessary for the following reasons; - The need to provide a safe sustainable Clinical service during the tender process. The Clinical risk of not having an operational Medical Biochemistry and Immunology service within Cardiff and Vale is significant as the laboratory is involved in 70% of all Clinical decisions - around 90% of the work undertaken within the department requires a 2 hour turnaround from time of receipt to reporting of the result which can only be achieved with an onsite service supported by hardware and the LIMS system. - 12 months to write and refine the tender specification - there is currently no specification written other than the one issued around 2007 - this requires time to ensure all key points are covered - 24-36 Months to go through the tender process including viewing potential options open to us to ensure an informed choice is made. - 12-24 Months Implementation - this would include phasing out the current equipment following validation and verification of any new platforms - some assays may require significant patient rebase lining which means dual running to evaluate any change in results on a personal patient basis - during this period a contract will still be required with Abbott diagnostics. - Tender processes - there is evidence from other sites within the UK including legal precedence that show the above is a realistic timeline. End of life-cycle equipment - The current equipment provided under the managed service contract with Abbott including Alinity analysers and associated automation (sample tracking and movement system) is 8 years old and needs replacing. A five-year contract could achieve this cost effectively, but any lesser period would place huge financial pressures on the HB in duplicative costs and may not be achievable. In the short term, not changing the aging equipment now and attempting to run it for a further 2-3 years to undertake a procurement exercise (notwithstanding the technical/resource limitations) would create a significant patient risk as the analysers down time which is likely to increase, will have a detrimental effect on the department's ability to turnaround the majority of work within the required 2 hours' time window, this places patients at risk by not being able provide laboratory results to make a clinical decision. Accordingly, the indication is that a period of less than five years is not economically viable to replace the current system. - There is also an indication that the automation is nearing its end of life, this is evidenced by the increased down time of individual components on the tracking system and time taken to obtain parts, life expectancy of this equipment is around 8 years although that is not a hard end point as with the LIMS, rather it is an unknown risk that could materialise or escalate in severity over time. Abbott Diagnostics are no longer contracting their track system to Inpeco and going forward would not be able to hold the risk under the MSC due to this contracting change. - As indicated 8 years is the usual life cycle of both analytical and tracking systems, although the equipment is still fully functional down time will increase and for the track will take longer to obtain, this increased downtime will seriously affect our ability to meet the 2 hours' time window for the return clinical results required to treat patients

Procurement Information

The Health Board wish to apply a modification to the original contract award to add an additional 8 years on to the current contract under the same terms and conditions to extend the contract up to 31st March 2033. The modification will enable the Health Board to undertake an equipment refresh of critical equipment that will put the Health Board services at significant risk if not replaced urgently.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-04cc57
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/010567-2025
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Award 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

71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services


CPV Codes

71900000 - Laboratory services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£150,752,880 £100M-£1B

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Mar 202511 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
30 Dec 200916 years ago
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD
Contact Name
Sarah Yellen
Contact Email
sarah.yellen@wales.nhs.uk
Contact Phone
+44 2921501500

Buyer Location

Locality
CARDIFF
Postcode
CF14 4HH
Post Town
Cardiff
Country
Wales

Major Region (ITL 1)
TLL Wales
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLL5 South East Wales
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLL52 Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan
Delivery Location
TLL Wales, TLL22 Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan

Local Authority
Cardiff
Electoral Ward
Heath
Westminster Constituency
Cardiff North

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
2
Supplier Names

ABBOTT DIAGNOSTICS

ABBOTT LABORATORIES

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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