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BHRUT/Contact Patients As a Service/DrDoctor

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust

This public procurement record has 3 releases in its history.

Award

29 Jul 2026 at 13:29

UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Award

13 Jul 2026 at 16:24

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

13 Jul 2026 at 15:38

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust procured a Contact Patients As a Service licence from ICNH Ltd trading as DrDoctor. The service provides SMS messaging as an add-on to the DrDoctor Patient Engagement Portal, enabling text-message reminders and wider digital communications with patients. Its purpose is to support patient care and patient experience, give patients more control over their care, reduce missed appointments and improve engagement. The work is a public-sector healthcare communications service delivered for the Trust in the United Kingdom. The requirement is based on messaging passing through the incumbent supplier’s portal and its interoperability restrictions, rather than on a standalone SMS service that can operate independently of the DrDoctor platform.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded through a direct award. The stated legal basis is Schedule 5, paragraphs 5(a) and 5(b) of the Procurement Act 2023, relying on intellectual property or exclusive rights and interoperability restrictions. The award to ICNH Ltd trading as DrDoctor was dated 23 June 2026, with a gross value of £349,719.60 (£291,433 excluding VAT). The contract was signed on 28 July 2026 and is active from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027, with a gross contract value of £263,224.80 (£219,354 excluding VAT). There was one lot, considered suitable for SMEs. The award documentation records a standstill period ending 23 July 2026. Evaluation was not a competitive price-and-quality exercise: the direct award was restricted to the incumbent supplier because the service must integrate with its portal.

This award shows demand from an NHS trust for patient communications that combine a patient engagement portal with integrated SMS messaging. Suppliers seeking to compete for a future requirement would need a proven healthcare communications platform, reliable two-way or outbound messaging capability where required, and the technical ability to integrate securely with NHS patient-engagement systems. Evidence of interoperability, data protection, service reliability, implementation support and operational capacity would be important. Experience supporting appointment reminders and other patient communications would help demonstrate understanding of the Trust’s objectives, particularly improving digital patient engagement and reducing missed appointments. The current route also shows that incumbent-platform compatibility and intellectual property arrangements can determine whether alternative suppliers are technically and legally viable.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

BHRUT/Contact Patients As a Service/DrDoctor

Notice Description

Contact Patients As a Service Licence - SMS messaging for the DrDoctor Contract

Procurement Information

The Contracting Authority justifies the direct award pursuant to Schedule 5, Paragraph 5(a) and 5(b) of the Procurement Act 2023 (PA23). The supplier was awarded a contract for the provision of a Patient Engagement Portal by the North East London Integrated Care Board (NEL ICB) following an open tender process in October 2023 and the contracting authority was a named party to this contract. The contract is due to expire in July 2027 with no provisions to extend. The Contracting Authority have been working with the Supplier and are now in a position to go-live with the Patient Engagement Portal that was originally procured by NEL ICB. To support patient care outcomes and patient experience, as well as to prevent cost incurrence from missed appointments, a requirement has been identified to purchase SMS messaging as a bolt on to the Patient Engagement Portal which will allow text message reminders to be sent to patients. To this end the Supplier has provided a proposal for a Contact a Patient As a Service (CPAS) which will co-term with the ICB's overarching contract for the portal. Due to interoperability restrictions applied by the incumbent supplier DrDoctor, this results in the requirement being restricted to the incumbent in line with PA23 and the grounds for intellectual property or exclusive rights apply, as all of the messaging passes through the incumbent supplier's portal and they do not allow the use of other service providers in order to protect their intellectual property. The CPAS also allows the Contracting Authority to access additional functionality which is not part of the NEL ICB contract but is required to increase digital communications with patients which will boost patient engagement, reduce DNAs (Did Not Attend) rates and give patients more control of their care. Due to the co-terminus nature of the proposed award to align with the wider NEL ICB contract expiry in July 2027, the Trust will be seeking either directly or in collaboration with NEL ICB partners, to reprocure a solution. During this reprocurement phase, the Trust will explore procurement options from the wider supplier market in line with its obligations aligned to PA23.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c9bc
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/071706-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK7 - Contract Details Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
SME
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

64 - Postal and telecommunications services

CPV Codes

64212100 - Short Message Service (SMS) services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£291,433 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
£219,354 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
29 Jul 20261 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
23 Jun 20262 months ago
Contract Period
1 Aug 2026 - 31 Jul 2027 6-12 months
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active, Pending
Contracts Status
Active

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
ROMFORD
Postcode
RM7 0AG
Postcode Area
Romford
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLI London
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLI5 Outer London - East and North East
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLI52 Barking & Dagenham and Havering
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Havering
Electoral Ward
Rush Green & Crowlands
Westminster Constituency
Romford

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

ICNH Ltd

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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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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