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CDC Phlebotomy Service

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

This public procurement record has 1 release in its history.

Planning

29 Sep 2026 at 12:23

Planning Notice
Summary of the contracting process

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust plans a short-term acute phlebotomy service at the Clacton Community Diagnostic Centre. The work is to provide blood-testing appointments for patients referred through primary and secondary care, supporting access to testing closer to home and continuity of care while the Trust prepares to take the service in-house. The existing provider also delivers other community diagnostic services at the centre, including dermoscopy and parts of the lung cancer screening pathway; the transition planning therefore includes coordination with those services. The service has been delivering about 1,300 blood tests each week. The Trust is the buyer, and delivery is centred on the Clacton Community Diagnostic Centre in Essex.

This is at the planning stage: the Trust has set out an intention to make a direct award to the existing provider under route C of the Provider Selection Regime, rather than invite tenders. The proposed contract runs from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, with a stated value of £151,102.79. The six-month extension is intended to maintain patient care while staff transfer arrangements, equipment handover, operating processes and stakeholder communications are completed, and a coordinated transition plan is developed. The Trust’s stated reasons for the proposed award include service quality and innovation, value, integration and sustainability, improved access and social value. The process also includes an intention-to-award stage and an eight-day standstill period, with a contract award notice to follow if there are no challenges.

The planned arrangement is directed towards the incumbent, GP Primary Choice, rather than a competitive market exercise, so it is not an invitation for other suppliers to bid. Its stated strengths include a safe, effective service, established working relationships with the Trust and primary care, and a local workforce operating from community facilities. Any supplier preparing for similar healthcare work would need the capacity to maintain regular patient blood-testing appointments and deliver the expected activity, alongside reliable clinical and operational continuity. The Trust identifies staff transfer, equipment and service handover, implementation of in-house processes, and communications with GPs, patients and other stakeholders as key transition tasks. The planned management measures include information-governance, safeguarding and basic-life-support training compliance, appointment reporting by referral source, and activity monitoring.

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Notice Information

Notice Title

CDC Phlebotomy Service

Notice Description

Provider Selection Regime (PSR) <br/>Decision and Intention to Award <br/>CDC Phlebotomy Service

Lot Information

Lot 1

Provider Selection Regime (PSR)
Decision and Intention to Award
CDC Phlebotomy Service
ESNEFT Ref: ESNEFT3317
Provider:
Award Route:
Report Date:
GP Primary Choice
PSR Direct Award - Option C
11th August 2026
As of the 1st January 2024 the selection process to identify and award contracts to Providers
of healthcare services has been removed from the Public Contract Regulations 2015 and are
now part of the new Provider Selection Regime (PSR). This report is to seek approval to
award a contract under the PSR procedures. The PSR process provides greater flexibility
than the traditional procurement procedures through a number of routes to award contracts
including Direct Awards. Whilst the PSR does offer greater flexibility ESNEFT's default
starting position for the selection of a Provider and award of contracts under PSR is
competition and Value for Money.
Service Outline and History
Our current contract with GPPC is due to expire on 30 September 2026. Following strategic
discussions, ESNEFT has confirmed its intention to bring the Acute Phlebotomy service in
house. To ensure a safe and well-managed transition, we are proposing a six-month Direct
Award under PSR option C.
This extension will provide sufficient time to complete all transition activities, including the
TUPE process for affected staff, handover of equipment and service arrangements,
implementation of any in house operational processes, and communication with GPs,
patients and any other stakeholders. It will also enable ESNEFT and GPPC to work
collaboratively to develop a coordinated transition plan for the additional services currently
delivered by GPPC from the Community Diagnostic Centre, including Dermoscopy and 24
hour ambulatory monitoring.
GPPC continues to provide a high-quality service and has consistently met the agreed activity
levels, delivering approximately 1,300 blood tests per week. The proposed extension will
ensure continuity of patient care while allowing adequate time to complete the transition to an
ESNEFT-delivered service in a safe, effective and sustainable manner.
ESNEFT Acute CDC Phlebotomy was originally commissioned by NEE CCG/SNEE ICB as a
Variation to their PES contract with GPPC. In 2023 ESNEFT were informed they would need
to commission the service as it would no longer be included in the PES Contract as a variation.
At this time the GPPC PES contract was due to expire in late October 2023 and the SNEE
ICB intentions post this date had not been defined. As the service worked well for both parties
and the patients within the community benefited from a single delivery location not just for
Acute Phlebotomy/Community GP Phlebotomy, they were also delivering other services for
MACNEE and Acute. In the interim GPPC were direct awarded a 6-month contract under
Waiver with a further 6-month contract under PSR Option C to allow time for SNEE ICB to
consider their options on their PES commissioning. SNEE ICB has a PES contract with GPPC
until September 2028.
1
Award Option - For this specific award of contract the decision is to Direct Award contract
under route C of the PSR Decision Workflow (Appendix 1). The five (5) Key Criteria for a
Direct Award as stated in PSR Regulations Part 1, Section 5 are met as stated below
(extracted from PSR End to End Process Mapping Spreadsheet - copy at Enclosure 1)::
1.
Quality and Innovation - GP Primary Choice has consistently delivered a safe and
effective Acute CDC Phlebotomy service, undertaking approximately 1,300 blood tests each
week whilst maintaining service continuity and working collaboratively with ESNEFT clinical
and operational teams. The provider has demonstrated compliance with Trust requirements,
embedded local processes and contributed to reliable patient care throughout the contract
period.
2.
Value - GP Primary Choice delivers the agreed service within the available contract
value and achieved the required activity levels. Their established workforce and operational
model have enabled efficient use of the Community Diagnostic Centre.
3.
Integration, collaboration, and service sustainability - GP Primary Choice has
worked collaboratively with ESNEFT and primary care, delivering services from the Clacton
CDC using integrated processes. The provider also delivers other services from the CDC,
including Dermoscopy and elements of the Lung Cancer Screening pathway, enabling
coordinated patient care.
4.
Improving access, reducing health inequalities, and facilitating choice -
Delivery from the Clacton Community Diagnostic Centre has improved local access to blood
testing by providing services closer to patients' homes. This has reduced the need for travel
to acute hospital sites and supports earlier diagnosis and treatment across both primary and
secondary care pathways.
5.
Social Value - GP Primary Choice employs a local workforce and delivers services
from community-based facilities, supporting the local economy and strengthening
relationships across primary and secondary care. Their established presence within the CDC
contributes to integrated community healthcare delivery.
Recommendation - Direct Award under PSR Option C
Contract Management
Divisional Contract Owner/Manager:
Name:
Title:
Division:
Katie King
Assistant General Manager
Cancer and Diagnostics (Medical Imaging)
What are the key KPIs (minimum of 3) - Detail below.
1. e-Training Compliance - IG
2. e-Training Compliance - Safeguarding
3. e-Training Compliance - IG - Safeguarding BLS
4. Blood Test Appointment Active Summary - This KPI will be reported
separately for referrals originating from Primary Care and Secondary Care.
5. Meet the activity plan of 1300 bleeds per week.
2
Note - Contract will be drafted against NHS Template sub-contract for the provision of
clinical services for the use with the NHS Standard Contract which also required National
KPIs and Reporting as per NHS Service and General Conditions
Does the contract, or draft contract, include a methodology for CM in line with the
Contract Management Framework? This will be:
frequency of meetings
types of meetings
named CMs from both parties
general and performance reporting requirements.
Confirm: Yes
Note - Contract will be drafted against NHS Template sub-contract for the provision of
clinical services for the use with the NHS Standard Contract which includes requirement
above
Contract Value
Value of contract: PS151,102.79
Contract Period:
1st October 2026 - 31st March 2027
Is the total value of contract PS5m+? No
Note - if the contract is formed under Procurement Act 2023 and is PS5m+ the contract
document has to be loaded onto Atamis and the Central Digital Platform. Annual updates on
performance and any Contract Change Control Notices also need to be uploaded onto
Atamis/CDP.
Intention to Award/Award Notices Standstill period end of 07 October 2026. Additional information: PSR Schedule 3 () - Content of notice of intention to award to the existing provider
under Direct Award Process C (Award Notice completed after contract award)
Note: Intent to Award Notice will be published by Procurement on Find a Tender Site (FTS)
and a standstill period of 8 days will follow date 7 October 2026 . If no challenges are received we would then
publish a 'Contract Award Notice'. If a challenge is forthcoming we will follow the PSR
guidance on any representations noting if a provider puts forward and representation remains
unsatisfied with the response of the relevant authority (ESNEFT) to its representation and
remains of the view that the PSR has not been applied correctly, the provider may submit a
representation to the PSR Review Panel. The panel will be an independent panel, made
available by NHSE.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-077c5c
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/091826-2026
Current Stage
Planning
All Stages
Planning

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
Planning Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Not Specified
Procurement Method Details
Not specified
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Not specified

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

85 - Health and social work services

CPV Codes

85111000 - Hospital services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
£151,102 £100K-£500K
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
Not specified
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
29 Sep 20261 weeks ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
29 Sep 2026Expired
Award Date
Not specified
Contract Period
Not specified - Not specified
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Planned
Lots Status
Planned
Awards Status
Not Specified
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
East Suffolk and North Essex 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
COLCHESTER
Postcode
CO4 5JL
Postcode Area
Colchester
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLH East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLH3 Essex
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLH34 Essex Haven Gateway
Delivery Location
TLH14 Suffolk CC
Local Authority
Colchester
Electoral Ward
Mile End
Westminster Constituency
Colchester

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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