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Provision of Medicine Supply

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HEALTHCARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Award

03 Sep 2026 at 15:47

Award Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust commissioned medicine supply services for a secure location at HMP Nottingham. The requirement is classified as pharmacy services and covers the provision of medicines into the prison’s secure healthcare setting. The buyer is an NHS foundation trust based in Kettering, Northamptonshire, while delivery and service activity are at HMP Nottingham. The requirement supports healthcare provision for people held at the prison, with continuity of supply forming the practical purpose of the arrangement. This is a service contract for organisations able to source, manage and deliver medicines securely into a custodial healthcare environment. The stated requirement concerns one package of medicine supply rather than a wider range of healthcare services, and is linked to the Trust’s responsibility for healthcare provision at HMP Nottingham.

The procurement is complete and an active award was made to Bestway National Chemists Limited. The contract was awarded on 19 November 2025 and signed on the same date, with a value of £300,000. The Trust used a limited procedure without prior publication of a competition, under Direct Award Process A for an urgent situation in the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. The Trust stated that the urgency followed NHS England’s emergency award of the wider healthcare-services contract at HMP Nottingham and that delay could risk patient or public safety. The award continued existing supplier subcontract arrangements during mobilisation of less than three months. One bid was recorded. Evaluation was based on quality at 70% and price at 30%.

This award identifies a buyer with demand for secure medicine supply into a prison healthcare setting and shows that the requirement was fulfilled through a large national chemist. A credible future competitor would need dependable pharmaceutical sourcing, robust dispensing and distribution capability, and systems that can deliver accurately into a secure custodial location. Experience of NHS, prison healthcare or similarly controlled environments would help demonstrate operational understanding, continuity and patient-safety controls. Suppliers should also be able to mobilise quickly, manage an established subcontract or service transition, and maintain supply while healthcare provision changes. The evaluation balance indicates that service quality carries substantially greater weight than price, so evidence of clinical governance, resilience, accurate fulfilment and secure logistics would be important alongside competitive commercial arrangements.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

Provision of Medicine Supply

Notice Description

Provision of Medicine Supply into a secure location

Lot Information

Lot 1

The Trust considers that an award must be made urgently, the reason for the urgency was not foreseeable by and not attributable to the Trust due to the Emergency Award by NHS England of the Head Contract for Healthcare Services at HMP Nottingham to the Trust. Delaying the award of the contract to satisfy the requirements of the PSR would likely pose a risk to patient or public safety. The award term reflects the novation of existing supplier subcontracts from the incumbent on existing terms to ensure the continuity of healthcare services during the mobilisation period of less than three-months. The period of mobilisation would not have allowed the Trust to identify alternative provision for the subcontracted service. The relevant authority has awarded this contract under the Direct Award Process A - Urgent situation (F03) under 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.

Procurement Information

The Trust considers that an award must be made urgently, the reason for the urgency was not foreseeable by and not attributable to the Trust due to the Emergency Award by NHS England of the Head Contract for Healthcare Services at HMP Nottingham to the Trust. Delaying the award of the contract to satisfy the requirements of the PSR would likely pose a risk to patient or public safety. The award term reflects the novation of existing supplier subcontracts from the incumbent on existing terms to ensure the continuity of healthcare services during the mobilisation period of less than three-months. The period of mobilisation would not have allowed the Trust to identify alternative provision for the subcontracted service. The relevant authority has awarded this contract under the Direct Award Process A - Urgent situation (F03) under 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.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f190
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/083587-2026
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

85149000 - Pharmacy services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
£300,000 £100K-£500K

Notice Dates

Publication Date
3 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

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

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HEALTHCARE 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
KETTERING
Postcode
NN15 7PW
Postcode Area
Northampton
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLF East Midlands (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLF2 Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLF25 North Northamptonshire
Delivery Location
TLF14 Nottingham
Local Authority
North Northamptonshire
Electoral Ward
Pipers Hill
Westminster Constituency
Kettering

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Bestway National Chemists Ltd

Further Information

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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