Notice Information
Notice Title
Women's Health Strategic Partnership Opportunity
Notice Description
To support the renewal of England's women's health strategy in the coming months, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is exploring collaboration opportunities with stakeholders from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) and private sectors interested in supporting the improvement of women's health outcomes. The renewed women's health strategy will set out the government's ambitions for women's health in the context of the 10 Year Health Plan and focus on the key themes of women being listened to and getting the care they need, women being supported to make reproductive choices, and women being empowered and supported to prevent future ill health. The forthcoming renewed women's health strategy will build on the core objectives of the existing Women's health strategy https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/womens-health-strategy-for-england/womens-health-strategy-for-england and the 10 Year Health Plan for England https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future and both should be used as a framework for this exercise. We are asking interested parties to complete a questionnaire detailing their proposal at this link: https://forms.office.com/e/Rxbv8jvT1t The questionnaire will close for responses at 12:00pm on 22nd of April 2026. Further guidance on how to complete the questionnaire can be found at the following link: https://atamis-1928.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/0O000000rwim/a/Pz00000IaOZK/G0YmgVuobfYOa6XQ9fi1Az3mJA_kfBnqq7DoCPxAWL4 DHSC is specifically looking at collaborating on a "value in kind" basis and we are especially interested in hearing about planned or ongoing initiatives focusing on addressing health inequalities for women which could include: * Health literacy, * Prevention and barriers to women's access to appropriate health provision, * Engagement and/or positive experience with the health system, and * Securing funding for these.
Planning Information
Background and Scope · Although women in the UK on average live longer than men, women spend a greater proportion of their lives in ill health and disability. There are some conditions that uniquely affect women, while others affect women differently or more severely than men. Key issues include: · Many women face challenges in reproductive health thorough out the course of their lives from puberty to menopause, with conditions such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and severe menstrual pain. · Over 80% of women experience period pain at some stage in their lifetime , but many do not know when they should seek medical attention for their reproductive health while those that do often report that their symptoms are dismissed or normalised rather than investigated. · As women age, menopause-related hormonal changes raise the risk of osteoporosis and frailty, while post-menopausal obesity further increases the likelihood of breast and endometrial cancers. · Around 1.5 million women are out of the workforce due to long term sickness, 200,000 more than men . Primary causes relate to mental health, musculoskeletal (MSK) and cardiovascular conditions, all of which women experience differently or more severely than men. · There are significant health inequalities in outcomes and risk factors including those related to long-term conditions, nutrition, and lifestyle risks. · These challenges reflect wider systemic barriers: women do not always have the knowledge and confidence to manage their own health and know when to seek medical care, and too often do not have their health concerns taken seriously. These barriers prevent women from accessing support, engaging with services, and having a positive experience of healthcare. · The existing Women’s Health Strategy, first launched in 2022 to correct that imbalance, has made significant progress — improving awareness and access to services, and driving research to benefit women’s health. However, there is still much more to do. We are now renewing the Strategy to build on these achievements, to close remaining gaps, and to ensure that women’s voices continue to shape the policies and services that affect them. · This renewal offers a vital opportunity to strengthen our collective commitment to delivering a health system that works for all women, at every stage of life. Market engagement · Following the market engagement events hosted by DHSC on Tuesday 3rd February and Wednesday 4th February 2026, DHSC is now seeking expressions of interest from organisations in the voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) and private sectors to collaborate in support of improving women’s health. · At the events we discussed the key barriers which align with these themes: o Fragmented and difficult to navigate care pathways o Dismissal and delayed diagnosis o Social, economic, and structural inequalities o Lack of education, awareness, and reliable information · Market intelligence collected during the market engagement events highlighted that women in England continue to face barriers to accessing timely, equitable and high‑quality care, driven by several system‑wide issues. Women’s health services are characterised by fragmented and difficult‑to‑navigate pathways, which can have unclear referral routes, regional variation in provision, and long delays that contribute to missed or late diagnoses. Inconsistent specialist provision limits capacity across primary and secondary care, resulting in inequitable access to services such as menopause care and pelvic health support, while variability in clinician training can also undermine the quality and consistency of care. Strategic Partnership Needs · We recognise that addressing the complex challenges surrounding women’s health requires collaboration across sectors. We would like to collaborate with individuals or organisations that share DHSC ambition to improve women's health outcomes. We are open to a range of collaborative models and are particularly interested in contributions that may include: o Financial or in-kind support o Donations of goods or services o Joint public awareness campaigns o Access to networks, data, or expertise o Programme suggestions/development o Other innovative resources or approaches · In return, DHSC may: o Offer to collaborate with you around PR moments and provide recognition to the collaboration. o Seek opportunities to promote outputs from the collaboration. Engagement Process and Deadline Those wishing to submit a proposal can do so by completing and submitting the questionnaire at the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/Rxbv8jvT1t Further guidance on how to complete the questionnaire can be found at the following link: https://atamis-1928.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/0O000000rwim/a/Pz00000IaOZK/G0YmgVuobfYOa6XQ9fi1Az3mJA_kfBnqq7DoCPxAWL4 The questionnaire will close for responses at 12:00pm on 22nd April 2026. Responses after this time will not be considered. DHSC recognises that organisations may wish to combine complementary skills, resources or experience by forming a consortium. We therefore encourage strategic partnership proposals from consortia where they strengthen capability, capacity or coverage. Organisations submitting a consortium proposal must nominate a lead organisation to submit the proposal and act as the single point of contact. They must also clearly outline the consortium membership including the roles, responsibilities and contributions of each consortium member.
Notice Details
Publication & Lifecycle
- Open Contracting ID
- ocds-h6vhtk-06734d
- Publication Source
- Find A Tender Service
- Latest Notice
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027063-2026
- Current Stage
- Planning
- All Stages
- Planning
Procurement Classification
- Notice Type
- UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
- Procurement Type
- Standard
- Procurement Category
- Services
- Procurement Method
- Not Specified
- Procurement Method Details
- Not specified
- Tender Suitability
- Not specified
- Awardee Scale
- Not specified
Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)
- CPV Divisions
33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
48 - Software package and information systems
85 - Health and social work services
92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services
-
- CPV Codes
33000000 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
33771100 - Sanitary towels or tampons
48000000 - Software package and information systems
85100000 - Health services
85140000 - Miscellaneous health services
85149000 - Pharmacy services
92600000 - Sporting services
92622000 - Sports-event organisation services
Notice Value(s)
- Tender Value
- Not specified
- Lots Value
- Not specified
- Awards Value
- Not specified
- Contracts Value
- Not specified
Notice Dates
- Publication Date
- 24 Mar 20261 weeks ago
- Submission Deadline
- Not specified
- Future Notice Date
- 22 Apr 20263 weeks to go
- Award Date
- Not specified
- Contract Period
- 24 Mar 2026 - 22 Apr 2026 30 days
- Recurrence
- Not specified
Notice Status
- Tender Status
- Planning
- Lots Status
- Planning
- Awards Status
- Not Specified
- Contracts Status
- Not Specified
Buyer & Supplier
Contracting Authority (Buyer)
- Main Buyer
- DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE
- 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
- SW1H 0EU
- Post Town
- South West London
- Country
- England
-
- Major Region (ITL 1)
- TLI London
- Basic Region (ITL 2)
- TLI3 Inner London - West
- Small Region (ITL 3)
- TLI35 Westminster and City of London
- Delivery Location
- Not specified
-
- Local Authority
- Westminster
- Electoral Ward
- St James's
- Westminster Constituency
- Cities of London and Westminster
Further Information
Notice Documents
-
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/027063-2026
24th March 2026 - Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
Notice URLs
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)
View full OCDS Record for this contracting process
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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