---
title: "Multiple Sclerosis Management Service for Children - Contract Modification"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-038737"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-038737"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-038737.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-038737.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NHS ENGLAND"
published: "2026-05-19"
---

# Multiple Sclerosis Management Service for Children - Contract Modification

Buyer: NHS ENGLAND  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-038737

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-038737)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-038737.json)

## Summary

This public procurement process, managed by NHS England, involves a contract modification for the "Multiple Sclerosis Management Service for Children." The focus is on health services within the UK, and the contracting process is currently in the award and contract update stage. A key modification was approved on 1st April 2026, extending the contract to let services continue under the Healthcare Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 framework. The contract, amounting to £12,139,810 GBP, will last until 30th November 2026 and involves services offered by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

This tender presents significant growth opportunities within the healthcare industry, particularly for large healthcare providers equipped to manage specialised paediatric services. Businesses knowledgeable in neuroinflammatory paediatrics, possessing innovative treatment capabilities, and skilled in handling complex MS and similar demyelinating conditions would be well-positioned to compete. Although the contract is primarily carried out by a large supplier, companies able to anticipate similar future opportunities and align with NHS procurement strategies can find avenues for expansion and collaboration in specialised healthcare services.

## Notice

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (AGCSU), on behalf of NHS England Highly Specialised Services (referred to as the Commissioner), is undertaking a market engagement exercise to understand the current and future capacity and capability of providers and potential providers within this highly specialised area. All interested parties, including incumbent providers, are encouraged to register their interest and participate in the market engagement questionnaire which will provide feedback to commissioners. Please note that this is not a call for competition although the commissioner would encourage all potential providers to respond to this market engagement exercise. The outcome of this market engagement will help inform commissioners of the current and future capacity and capability of the market and will be considered to inform the commissioning approach.

### Lot Information

Lot 1 - North comprising the NHS England Regions: the North East and Yorkshire; the North West,

The service is currently delivered by 6 providers across the 3 Lots. The service will continue for the duration of this modification.

Lot 2 - the Midlands comprising the NHS England Regions: the Midlands; the East of England

This exercise is to commission a service that is able to expertly manage the provision of the Multiple Sclerosis Management Service for Children, including patients with suspected Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or equally rare 'MS-like', recurrent acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) or who have had a first demyelination episode and have a high risk of relapse which would require a similar treatment approach, including: Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMO, NMOSD) and other AQP4 antibody associated demyelination; Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) antibody associated relapsing demyelination and other forms of recurrent relapsing demyelination. The MS Hub Lead Centres will be geographically spaced across the Regional areas of NHS England as follows: i) Lot 1 - North comprising the NHS England Regions: the North East and Yorkshire; the North West, ii) Lot 2 - the Midlands comprising the NHS England Regions: the Midlands; the East of England iii) Lot 3 - London and the South: comprising the South East; the South West; London We would like to hear from incumbent and potential paediatric providers who can meet the following essential criteria: I. Have staff in place with paediatric neuroinflammatory expertise as listed in the service specification : (https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/multiple-sclerosis-mgt-for-children-sept-2017.pdf); II. Be currently actively managing, as an expert care provider and have seen face to face in the last year, a minimum of 20 children with paediatric Remitting Demyelinating Syndromes (RDS) (including first presentation or first event MS or high risk RDS); III. Be actively prescribing innovative therapeutic pharmacological MS treatments for these children using the NHS England BluTeq online system; IV. Have received in a tertiary capacity for expert review, five to ten new paediatric referrals of acute multiple sclerosis/MS-like cases per year in each of the last three years (2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21. With the requests being for second opinions/advice on the treatment plan. V. Must be an existing provider of tertiary paediatric neurosciences. The anticipated contract period is 3 years. The Commissioner reserves the right to direct award where competition is absent. This notice is to advise incumbent and prospective providers in the market of the commissioner's intention to commission this service and to provide an opportunity to engage with and participate in a market engagement questionnaire. The outcome of this market engagement will help inform commissioners of the current and future capacity and capability of the market and will be considered with other evidence to inform the commissioning approach, Applications may be made jointly where partners can demonstrate appropriate expertise and meet the service criteria set out in the questionnaire and service specification: multiple-sclerosis-mgt-for-children-sept-2017.pdf (england.nhs.uk).. The questionnaire is available through the EU Supply portal: https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=agcsu The reference is 62208 and the closing date for submission of the completed questionnaire will be: 12pm, midday on Tuesday 20th December 2022.

Lot 3 - London and the South: comprising the South East; the South West; London

This exercise is to commission a service that is able to expertly manage the provision of the Multiple Sclerosis Management Service for Children, including patients with suspected Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or equally rare 'MS-like', recurrent acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) or who have had a first demyelination episode and have a high risk of relapse which would require a similar treatment approach, including: Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMO, NMOSD) and other AQP4 antibody associated demyelination; Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) antibody associated relapsing demyelination and other forms of recurrent relapsing demyelination. The MS Hub Lead Centres will be geographically spaced across the Regional areas of NHS England as follows: i) Lot 1 - North comprising the NHS England Regions: the North East and Yorkshire; the North West, ii) Lot 2 - the Midlands comprising the NHS England Regions: the Midlands; the East of England iii) Lot 3 - London and the South: comprising the South East; the South West; London We would like to hear from incumbent and potential paediatric providers who can meet the following essential criteria: I. Have staff in place with paediatric neuroinflammatory expertise as listed in the service specification : (https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/multiple-sclerosis-mgt-for-children-sept-2017.pdf); II. Be currently actively managing, as an expert care provider and have seen face to face in the last year, a minimum of 20 children with paediatric Remitting Demyelinating Syndromes (RDS) (including first presentation or first event MS or high risk RDS); III. Be actively prescribing innovative therapeutic pharmacological MS treatments for these children using the NHS England BluTeq online system; IV. Have received in a tertiary capacity for expert review, five to ten new paediatric referrals of acute multiple sclerosis/MS-like cases per year in each of the last three years (2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21. With the requests being for second opinions/advice on the treatment plan. V. Must be an existing provider of tertiary paediatric neurosciences. The anticipated contract period is 3 years. The Commissioner reserves the right to direct award where competition is absent. This notice is to advise incumbent and prospective providers in the market of the commissioner's intention to commission this service and to provide an opportunity to engage with and participate in a market engagement questionnaire. The outcome of this market engagement will help inform commissioners of the current and future capacity and capability of the market and will be considered with other evidence to inform the commissioning approach, Applications may be made jointly where partners can demonstrate appropriate expertise and meet the service criteria set out in the questionnaire and service specification: multiple-sclerosis-mgt-for-children-sept-2017.pdf (england.nhs.uk).. The questionnaire is available through the EU Supply portal: https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=agcsu The reference is 62208 and the closing date for submission of the completed questionnaire will be: 12pm, midday on Tuesday 20th December 2022.

### Procurement Information

Following the PIN notice and market engagement exercise, it was apparent that competition was absent and direct awards have been placed with all capable providers for each of the Lots. The PIN and market engagement documentation clearly stated that commissioners would consider placing direct awards where competition is deemed to be absent following a review of the market engagement responses.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045613-2026 |
| Notice type | Planning 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 |
| All stages | Planning, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 19 May 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 12 Jan 2023 |
| Award date | 10 Mar 2023 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 30 Nov 2026 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £21,992,955 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Cancelled |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NHS ENGLAND |
| Additional buyers | NHS ENGLAND - SPECIALISED COMMISSIONING |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | South East London |
| Postcode | SE1 6LH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI4 Inner London - East |
| ITL 3 | TLI45 Lambeth |
| Local authority | Lambeth |
| Electoral ward | Waterloo & South Bank |
| Westminster constituency | Vauxhall and Camberwell Green |
| Delivery location | TLC North East (England), TLD North West (England), TLE Yorkshire and The Humber, TLF East Midlands (England), TLG West Midlands (England), TLH East (England), TLI London, TLJ South East (England), TLK South West (England) |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 6 |
| Supplier names | BIRMINGHAM WOMEN’S AND CHILDREN’S NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; GUY’S AND ST THOMAS’ NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; OXFORD UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85000000 - Health and social work services
- 85100000 - Health services

## Release History

- 19 May 2026 at 07:48 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045613-2026
- 19 May 2026 at 07:48 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/045612-2026
- 14 May 2026 at 14:23 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044470-2026
- 14 May 2026 at 14:23 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/044469-2026
- 16 Oct 2023 at 13:06 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/030459-2023
- 22 Nov 2022 at 10:52 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/033046-2022

## Notice URLs

- http://www.england.nhs.uk
- https://uk.eu-supply.com/ctm/Company/CompanyInformation/Index/68205
- https://uk.eu-supply.com/ctm/Supplier/Documents/Folder/52947
- https://uk.eu-supply.com/login.asp?B=agcsu
- https://www.ardengemcsu.nhs.uk/
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/multiple-sclerosis-mgt-for-children-sept-2017.pdf

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-038737. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-038737.json.