---
title: "National Air Ambulance Service for The Scottish Ambulance Service"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-03922f"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03922f"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03922f.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03922f.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "SCOTTISH AMBULANCE SERVICE"
published: "2024-08-09"
---

# National Air Ambulance Service for The Scottish Ambulance Service

Buyer: SCOTTISH AMBULANCE SERVICE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03922f

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## Summary

The Scottish Ambulance Service has initiated a procurement process under the title "National Air Ambulance Service for The Scottish Ambulance Service," falling under the air-rescue services industry category. This selective procurement, employing a competitive dialogue method, aims to secure an air ambulance service covering all of Scotland, including its islands. Key dates include the conclusion of the tender period on 19 January 2023 and the planned invitation date for the second stage on 14 February 2023. The procurement stage is currently listed as active, and it aims to engage with up to six candidates from a range of compliant submissions. The service is crucial for providing emergency medical transport in a challenging environment characterised by varied terrain and severe weather conditions. The main procurement category is services, and the contract location is specified as Scotland - National Service. The overall contract, including renewals, could extend up to ten years.

This procurement represents a significant opportunity for businesses involved in air rescue services, aircraft maintenance, and aviation logistics to expand their operations. Companies equipped with a Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) capability and the necessary certification from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) will find this tender particularly suitable. Additionally, the contract necessitates facilities such as aircraft hangars, maintenance support, engineering services, and adequate base facilities for clinical staff, creating further business potential for infrastructure providers. The procurement's emphasis on innovation, sustainability, and high-quality patient care aligns with the strategic goals of firms looking to contribute to public service efficiency and resilience. Large-scale providers like Gama Aviation (UK) Ltd demonstrate the level of capability expected from successful bidders, highlighting the competitive nature of this tender.

## Notice

The procurement of a national air ambulance service for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The Scottish Ambulance Service ("the Service") provides a national air ambulance service to all of Scotland and its islands. This is the only wholly publicly funded air ambulance service in the United Kingdom and provides an invaluable resource to the public of Scotland. Scotland presents a challenging environment for air ambulance operators. Factors to be considered include: - Varied terrain. - Potentially severe weather conditions. - Longer hours of darkness in winter. - Limited and varying airport capabilities and hours of operation. - Future island transport provisions including ferries and airport developments or changes. - Recognition of the Government targets on sustainability and carbon neutral. - National planning of specialist services for example thrombectomy and major trauma. The aims of the procurement are to deliver an innovative, sustainable, resilient and value for money air ambulance service that can respond to changes in service delivery requirements whilst maintaining a high quality care and experience for the patients and public of Scotland. The future contract is expected to encompass the following elements including but not limited to: 1.The aircraft fleet must be capable of reaching all of Scotland's population. The rotary aircraft must have 24/7 Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) capability and all aircraft must act as a suitable transport platform for the personnel and equipment associated with our adult, paediatric and neonatal critical care transport and retrieval teams (ScotSTAR). 2. Provision of aircraft hangarage in order to ensure 24/7 availability of aircraft during inclement weather. 3. Provision of maintenance & backup. All planned and reactive maintenance must be carried out in Scotland. Backup aircraft to be provided to the same specification as core aircraft. 4. Provision of 24/7 engineering support. 5. Provision of adequate base facilities for clinical staff. e.g., provision of Ops Room space, lockers and parking facilities etc., In addition, meeting room/training room and overnight accommodation (where necessary) for on-call clinical staff. 6. Provision of air crew member training (e.g., Technical Crew Member training for HEMS). 7.Provision of compliant radio communications system. The aircraft must be capable of compliance with the current Airwave communications system (if this is still in operation at contract commencement), and also compliance with the future Emergency Services Network (ESN) system 8. Provision of on-going monitoring of service provision by way of regular contract monitoring meetings. 9. The Service will provide the clinical staffing. The aircraft, flight crew (pilots), estate & facilities and engineering support will be provided by the successful contractor(s) on a managed service basis. 10. The successful contractor(s) shall support a variety of air ambulance missions; ranging from hospital discharges through to pre-hospital helicopter emergency calls and critical care transfers.

Renewal: optional three year extension (7+3)

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025179-2024 |
| Notice type | Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Competitive dialogue |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Tender, Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 9 Aug 2024 |
| Submission deadline | 19 Jan 2023 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 25 Jul 2024 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Contract is for 7 years with a possible 3 years extension. |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £241,953,313 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | SCOTTISH AMBULANCE SERVICE |
| Locality | EDINBURGH |
| Post town | Edinburgh |
| Postcode | EH12 9EB |
| Country | Scotland |
| ITL 1 | TLM Scotland |
| ITL 2 | TLM1 East Central Scotland |
| ITL 3 | TLM13 City of Edinburgh |
| Local authority | City of Edinburgh |
| Electoral ward | Drum Brae/Gyle |
| Westminster constituency | Edinburgh South West |
| Delivery location | TLM Scotland |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | GAMA AVIATION (UK |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 34 - Transport equipment and auxiliary products to transportation
- 35 - Security, fire-fighting, police and defence equipment
- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

### Codes

- 34700000 - Aircraft and spacecraft
- 34710000 - Helicopters, aeroplanes, spacecraft and other powered aircraft
- 34711110 - Fixed-wing aircrafts
- 34711300 - Piloted aircraft
- 34711400 - Special-purpose aircraft
- 35112000 - Rescue and emergency equipment
- 35612500 - Search and rescue helicopters
- 35613000 - Unmanned aerial vehicles
- 60424110 - Hire of fixed-wing aircraft with crew
- 60424120 - Hire of helicopters with crew
- 60440000 - Aerial and related services
- 60443000 - Air-rescue services

## Release History

- 9 Aug 2024 at 09:46 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/025179-2024
- 16 Dec 2022 at 16:47 - Tender - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/035756-2022

## Notice URLs

- http://www.scottishambulance.com
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000716991
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_MainPage.aspx
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA00393

## 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-03922f. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03922f.json.