Award

HPV Primary Cervical Screening Laboratory Service in the South West

NHS ENGLAND SOUTH WEST

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

13 Apr 2026 at 14:37

Summary of the contracting process

The NHS England South West has issued a public procurement contracting process to award a new contract for the provision of HPV Primary Cervical Screening Laboratory Services. This procurement falls under the services category, specifically services provided by medical laboratories, and is intended to operate in the South West region of the United Kingdom. The process is currently at the award stage, with an anticipated contract commencement date of 1st July 2026. The initial contract period is set for 21 months, with an option to extend for an additional year, reaching a possible maximum contract value of £19,677,000. The significant dates within this procurement include a deadline for representations to the decision-makers by 24th April 2026. This procurement follows the 'Direct Award Process C' under the Provider Selection Regime (PSR), with no prior publication required as per the usual public contracts regulations.

This tender presents an opportunity for businesses specialising in medical and laboratory services to engage with an essential component of the healthcare services infrastructure, specifically an established screening programme for cervical health. Although the direct award process suggests limited competition, it underscores the importance of meeting stringent quality and service standards, positioning well-qualified and experienced providers to potentially assume similar future opportunities. Businesses that excel in delivering reliable, high-quality, and innovative laboratory service solutions, especially those capable of operating within the framework of NHS service provision, would be well-suited to this and similar engagements. Additionally, participation might fuel future discussions and strategy considerations for longer-term commissioning within the NHS framework.

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Notice Title

HPV Primary Cervical Screening Laboratory Service in the South West

Notice Description

NHS England South West are looking to award a new contract for the provision of a HPV Primary Cervical Screening Laboratory Service to the existing provider, North Bristol NHS Trust. The existing contract for the provision of a HPV Primary Cervical Screening Laboratory services in the South West is due to expire on 30th June 2026 and NHS England South West have proposed that a new contract should replace the existing contract at the end of its term. All requirements outlined in Regulation 6(5) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 have been met, including not breaching the considerable change threshold, and therefore direct award process C has been deemed the appropriate provider selection process. After conducting an assessment, taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria, NHS England South West is content that the existing provider is satisfying the original contract and will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard. The service is anticipated to commence on the 1st July 2026 for an initial contract duration of 21 months, with an option to extend for a further 1 year. The total contract lifecycle value is PS13,905,000 over the initial 21 months, and a maximum possible contract value of PS19,677,000 including extensions. This notice serves as an intention to award the contract to the existing provider under Direct Award Process C of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR).

Lot Information

Lot 1

NHS England South West are looking to award a new contract for the provision of a HPV Primary Cervical Screening Laboratory Service to the existing provider, North Bristol NHS Trust. The cervical screening laboratory is an essential component of the cervical screening programme pathway. The primary purpose of the cervical laboratory is to: * receive and process samples taken for the purposes of the cervical screening programme in primary care and any other relevant setting across their designated geographies. * send the results to the Cervical Screening Administration Service. * refer women who require treatment to their local colposcopy clinic. In addition, the laboratory has to: * arrange the distribution of sample taking kits to all sample taking locations. * maintain a database of sample takers, ensuring their training is up to date. * distribute sample bags and arrange for samples to be transported to the laboratory - which may be using its own transport service, or by making use of local transport and 'spoke' arrangements in laboratories on multiple other acute sites across large geographical areas. * ensure sample takers have a means of requesting tests electronically - typically a separate system from other 'order comms'. * put in place arrangements to access histology results from associated colposcopy activity. * support multi-disciplinary team meetings in each of the associated gynaecology services in order to arrive at a diagnosis/develop treatment plans. * support invasive cancer audits in each of the associated gynaecology services. * participation in local programme boards to support continuous quality improvement across the whole pathway. * support the training of cyto-histopathologist and other specialist staff across the whole network. This requires the laboratory to be at the heart of a complex network of services and relationships, with data sharing and logistics in place across multiple ICB geographies. The existing contract for the provision of a HPV Primary Cervical Screening Laboratory services in the South West is due to expire on 30th June 2026 and NHS England South West have proposed that a new contract should replace the existing contract at the end of its term. All requirements outlined in Regulation 6(5) of the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 have been met, including not breaching the considerable change threshold, and therefore direct award process C has been deemed the appropriate provider selection process. After conducting an assessment, taking into account the key criteria and applying the basic selection criteria, NHS England South West is content that the existing provider is satisfying the original contract and will likely satisfy the proposed contract to a sufficient standard. The service is anticipated to commence on the 1st July 2026 for an initial contract duration of 21 months, with an option to extend for a further 1 year. The total contract lifecycle value is PS13,905,000 over the initial 21 months, and a maximum possible contract value of PS19,677,000 including extensions. The Commissioner will be contracting for the services using the Full-Length NHS Standard Contract. This notice serves as an intention to award the contract to the existing provider under Direct Award Process C of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). During the life of the proposed new contract, NHS England South West intend to consider a longer term commissioning strategy for the service. This procurement has been carried out by NHS South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit (SCW) on behalf of the Commissioners.

Procurement Information

This is a Provider Selection Regime (PSR) intention to award notice. The awarding of this contract is subject to the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award. The publication of this notice marks the start of the standstill period. Representations by providers must be made to the relevant authority by midnight on 24th April 2026. This contract has not yet formally been awarded; this notice serves as an intention to award under the PSR.

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-068139
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033379-2026
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

85 - Health and social work services


CPV Codes

85145000 - Services provided by medical laboratories

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£19,677,000 £10M-£100M

Notice Dates

Publication Date
13 Apr 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
6 Apr 20262 weeks 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
NHS ENGLAND SOUTH WEST
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
Not specified
Postcode
Not specified
Post Town
Not specified
Country
Not specified

Major Region (ITL 1)
Not specified
Basic Region (ITL 2)
Not specified
Small Region (ITL 3)
Not specified
Delivery Location
TLK South West (England)

Local Authority
Not specified
Electoral Ward
Not specified
Westminster Constituency
Not specified

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

NORTH BRISTOL NHS TRUST

Further Information

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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