Planning

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Pathology Off Site Storage

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

14 Aug 2026 at 11:30

UK2 - Preliminary Market Engagement Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is exploring an off-site storage service for pathology archive materials. The service would securely store, manage, track, retrieve and transport histology blocks and slides, supporting current hospital requirements and future archive growth. The archive currently contains approximately 63,463 histology blocks and slides, with around 130,000 blocks and 180,000 slides generated each year. The service falls within pathology archive storage, warehousing, and storage and retrieval services (CPV 63121000 and 63122000). Delivery would support the Trust’s operations in Gloucestershire and the wider South West of England. Requirements are expected to include compliant facilities, operational governance, retrieval arrangements, transportation, onboarding, and the ability to scale as archive volumes increase.

This is a preliminary market engagement at the planning stage, not a call for competition, invitation to tender or request for pricing. The Trust intends to use supplier feedback to test the draft specification, assess market capacity, identify participation barriers and refine its procurement strategy. Suppliers are invited to register interest and complete a market engagement questionnaire through the Health Family e-Sourcing portal, with engagement responses scheduled for 7 September 2026. A subsequent notice is anticipated on 21 September 2026, although the Trust has not committed to commencing a formal procurement. The estimated value is £187,000 excluding VAT, or £224,400 including VAT. One planned lot is suitable for SMEs and VCSEs. The intended contract period is 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2032, with possible renewal to 31 December 2035.

This engagement will suit specialist archive, records management, secure warehousing, logistics and healthcare storage providers, including smaller businesses and voluntary, community or social enterprises. Suppliers should be prepared to demonstrate secure, compliant and scalable storage for large and steadily growing pathology collections, together with reliable item-level tracking, retrieval and transport. Relevant experience in handling histology blocks, slides or other sensitive clinical materials would be valuable. The Trust is seeking practical evidence that suppliers can meet operational retrieval timescales, manage onboarding, maintain appropriate governance and comply with relevant legislation and regulatory requirements, including Human Tissue Authority standards where applicable. Businesses able to advise on deliverability, proportionality, market capacity and barriers to competition should consider participating in the engagement to help shape the future specification.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Pathology Off Site Storage

Notice Description

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust ("the Authority") would like to engage with potential suppliers to explore the provision of an offsite storage solution for pathology archive materials. The Trust currently manages a substantial archive of histology blocks and slides and requires a secure, compliant, and scalable storage solution to support ongoing service requirements and future archive growth. The service will include the storage, management, tracking, retrieval, and transportation of pathology materials in accordance with relevant legislation and regulatory requirements, including Human Tissue Authority (HTA) standards where applicable. Current archive volumes are approximately: - 63,463 histology blocks and slides currently held in archive - 130,000 histology blocks generated annually - 180,000 histology slides generated annually This Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) exercise aims to understand the market's capacity, capability, and interest in providing these services. The Trust is seeking feedback on the proposed requirements and would welcome suppliers' views on the deliverability and proportionality of the draft specification. The purpose of this engagement is to: - Assess whether the proposed specification is realistic and achievable. - Understand the capacity and capability of the market. - Identify potential barriers to participation and competition. - Obtain feedback on operational requirements, including storage capacity, retrieval timescales, onboarding arrangements, and governance requirements. - Refine the specification and procurement approach prior to commencing any formal procurement process. This exercise is not a call for competition, invitation to tender, or request for pricing. Participation in this engagement will not confer any advantage or disadvantage in any future procurement process. The Authority invites interested suppliers to review the draft specification and respond to the accompanying questionnaire. Feedback will be used to inform the final service requirements and procurement strategy. The feedback received will help the Authority determine the most appropriate route to market and assess whether there is sufficient market capacity and interest to support a competitive procurement process. The Trust may contact suppliers who participate in this engagement to seek clarification on responses and to discuss feedback received. Any such discussions will be conducted in a fair and transparent manner. Although this Preliminary Market Engagement Notice has been issued in accordance with the Procurement Act 2023, it does not represent a commitment by the Authority to commence a procurement exercise. Should a future procurement be undertaken, the Authority reserves the right to determine the most appropriate procurement procedure and route to market in accordance with the legislation and circumstances applying at that time.

Planning Information

The market engagement documentation is available for unrestricted and direct access, free of charge, via the Health Family e-Sourcing portal (Atamis) at: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome. Suppliers interested in this opportunity are invited to register their interest by accessing the Atamis e-Sourcing portal and searching for Atamis Reference: C464949. Requests to participate must be submitted electronically via Atamis. Upon registration, suppliers will be granted access to the published materials, which include the Market Engagement Questionnaire. Respondents are encouraged to review and complete this questionnaire as part of the engagement process.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06e476
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/077607-2026
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
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

63 - Supporting and auxiliary transport services; travel agencies services

CPV Codes

63121000 - Storage and retrieval services

63122000 - Warehousing services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£187,000 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
14 Aug 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
21 Sep 20264 weeks to go
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Jan 2027 - 31 Dec 2032 Over 5 years
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
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation 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
GLOUCESTER
Postcode
GL53 7AN
Postcode Area
Gloucester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLK South West (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLK7 Gloucestershire and Wiltshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLK73 Gloucestershire CC
Delivery Location
TLK1 Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area, TLK13 Gloucestershire CC
Local Authority
Cheltenham
Electoral Ward
College
Westminster Constituency
Cheltenham

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

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.

Loading OCDS record...