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National Infection and Sepsis Audit - Acute NHS settings

HEALTHCARE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PARTNERSHIP

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Tender

18 Sep 2026 at 15:46

UK4 - Tender Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership is commissioning a national Infection and Sepsis Audit for acute NHS hospital settings. The service will collect and analyse data on early-stage severe infection and sepsis care, benchmark performance, identify variation and support healthcare quality improvement over time. It is intended to align with NHS England and NHS Wales sepsis, patient safety, infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. The initial focus is the prompt identification and treatment of sepsis and severe infection in NHS-funded care. Delivery covers England and Wales, with potential coverage of privately funded care among the possible future extensions. This is a health service requirement (CPV 85100000) and is classified as a service. The opportunity is identified as suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and voluntary, community or social enterprises.

The procurement has reached tender: the buyer invited offers through an open procedure. There is one lot. Questions could be submitted until 12 October 2026 at 12:00, and tenders were due by 27 October 2026 at 12:00. The intended contract period is 1 April 2027 to 30 March 2030, with an option to extend by up to two years, making five years in total; the maximum extension date is 30 March 2032. The core budget is up to £1,146,300 excluding VAT or £1,375,560 including VAT, and bids above these limits will be rejected. Including the possible extension and other aspirational work, the potential ceiling is £8,988,606 including VAT. Award decisions are due by 14 January 2027. Evaluation is 90% quality and 10% price, including data strategy, quality analysis, governance, engagement, delivery, social value and budget allocation.

This opportunity suits organisations able to design and deliver a complex national clinical audit across acute healthcare providers. Strong candidates will need capability in healthcare data acquisition, information governance, data quality analysis and turning clinical data into useful improvement outputs. The requirement also favours suppliers with experience engaging NHS healthcare providers, supporting their participation and reducing the burden of data collection. Evidence of programme leadership, governance, structured delivery planning and effective risk management will be important, alongside the ability to involve patients, carers and the public meaningfully. Relevant knowledge of infection, sepsis, patient safety or healthcare quality improvement would support delivery, particularly in the early stages of care. The buyer also places weight on social value, cost control and practical use of the audit data.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

National Infection and Sepsis Audit - Acute NHS settings

Notice Description

The contract for the Infection and Sepsis Audit - Acute care settings (NISA-Acute) will initially be delivered for NHS-funded care in England and Wales for a period of three years, at a maximum total budget of up to PS 1,146,300.00 excl VAT and PS1,375,560.00 with VAT. Bids exceeding these limits will be rejected. All pricing submissions must be in regard to this 'core' value, and not inclusive of any extension costs or aspirational intent costs, i.e. Please only submit a cost schedule up to the maximum core value of PS 1,146,300.00 excl VAT and PS1,375,560.00 with VAT. The maximum budget 'core' value excludes the potential two year extension and aspirational intent as described in section 14.3 of Annex A - Service Specification. Please note, there is no commitment by the Authority at this stage to include any of the below aspirational intent. Taking this aspirational intent into account, including the possibility that a contract extension may be offered for an additional 24 months, the potential ceiling value is PS8,988,606.00 GBP including VAT. This is a new national clinical audit for severe infection and sepsis in acute NHS hospital settings. The aim is to provide benchmarked infection and sepsis care data to identify variation and drive improvement over time. Sepsis is life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. While it is an unusual complication of developing an infection, it can be triggered by any infection. When people die from an infection, it is most commonly due to sepsis. Sepsis is complex and hard to diagnose, with no single test and symptoms that overlap with other conditions (NHS England Modern Service Framework, 2026) Severe infections may lead to the development of sepsis, particularly in at-risk groups, and are one of the most common reasons for emergency admission to hospital. Both infection and sepsis are major causes of morbidity and mortality in the UK, and costly to the NHS and wider economy: In 2025 there were over 23,000 deaths involving sepsis (Office for National Statistics). Patients and carers who we engaged with as part of specification development told us of long-term impacts that some sepsis survivors experience, from reduced mobility and cognitive difficulties, to loss of limbs or vision impairments. Each year, the NHS in England spends over PS1billion on sepsis care, and over PS6.5billion on infection care. Wider economic costs are estimated at PS10-15billion annually (York Health Economics Consortium, 2017). 1,300 clinical negligence claims were made regarding sepsis from 2020/21 to 2024/25, costing PS65.3m in litigation. Most claims relate to delays and failures in treatment and diagnosis. Several major healthcare initiatives have been launched to help improve care related to sepsis and severe infection, including: NHS England's sepsis Modern Service Framework (MSF), which aims to reduce death, life-threatening complications and long-term impact from sepsis and severe infection by at least 25% by 2035, as well as reducing health inequalities (published July 2026). NHS England's National Improvement Programme for 'Optimising the acute management of sepsis' (as part of the MSF activities). The National Patient Safety Plan for NHS Wales 2026-2031, which includes sepsis care. The UK Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) National Action Plan, which pledges to strengthen infection prevention and control (IPC) and antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) in health and social care settings New NICE guidelines for recognition, diagnosis and early management of suspected sepsis, published in November 2025 (NG253-NG255) Establishing the NISA-Acute audit is a key ambition of the NHS England sepsis MSF, and the audit will be expected to align closely with all the initiatives listed above. The audit funders have selected 'early stages of care' as the initial priority for this audit because this is a critical point for effective severe infection management and the swift identification and treatment of sepsis. Prompt, effective treatment is vital to improving outcomes, and both Prevention of Future Death (PFD) reports and Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) investigations have highlighted opportunities to improve care in this area.

Lot Information

Lot 1

Renewal: Up to 2 years extension. A 5 year contract in total

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-0775bc
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/088832-2026
Current Stage
Tender
All Stages
Tender

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK4 - Tender Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Open
Procurement Method Details
Open procedure
Tender Suitability
SME, VCSE
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85100000 - Health services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£7,490,505 £1M-£10M
Lots Value
£7,490,505 £1M-£10M
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
18 Sep 20262 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
27 Oct 20263 weeks to go
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
1 Apr 2027 - 30 Mar 2030 3-4 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Active
Lots Status
Active
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
HEALTHCARE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PARTNERSHIP
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
EC2V 6DL
Postcode Area
Central 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
City of London
Electoral Ward
Cheap
Westminster Constituency
Cities of London and Westminster

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.

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