---
title: "Service for Open Pre-natal Surgery to treat Fetuses with Open Spina Bifida"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-03990a"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-03990a"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03990a.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03990a.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "NHS ENGLAND"
published: "2023-09-28"
---

# Service for Open Pre-natal Surgery to treat Fetuses with Open Spina Bifida

Buyer: NHS ENGLAND  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-03990a

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## Summary

The NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit, acting on behalf of NHS England, has awarded a contract for the provision of a national service for open pre-natal surgery to treat fetuses with open spina bifida. The contract falls under the health and social work services classification. This service aims to identify capable providers meeting specific criteria and will last 3 years with a possible extension. The procurement method used was an award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition.

This tender presents a growth opportunity for organisations with expertise in open fetal surgery and related multidisciplinary healthcare services. Businesses with experience in fetal medicine, neurosurgery, and patient counselling are well-suited to compete. Interested parties were encouraged to participate in a market engagement exercise to inform the procurement process. The closing date for the questionnaire submission was 16th February 2023, providing a clear timeline for potential providers to engage with the opportunity.

## Notice

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (AGCSU), on behalf of NHS England Specialised Commissioning (referred to as the Commissioner), is undertaking a market engagement exercise to understand the current and future capacity and capability of the providers and potential providers within this highly specialised area. Interested parties are encouraged to register their interest and participate in the market 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. It is possible that, as a result of this exercise, a formal tender process may not be required but instead a simpler supplier selection process may be considered. Where it is noted that competition is absent, direct awards may be considered.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

NHS England would like to identify providers who are interested in the provision of a national service for open pre-natal surgery to treat fetuses with open spina bifida service In line with the service specification Open-fetal-surgery-to-treat-fetuses-with-open-spina-bifida.pdf (england.nhs.uk)
The commissioned Provider(s) must have:
* Undertaken, as an organisation, a minimum of ten 'open' fetal surgery repairs in fetuses with open spina bifida in the period December 2019 to December 2022, and
* In place the key fetal medicine, neurosurgery and other multidisciplinary team members to deliver the service who can evidence their experience and expertise in open surgery for fetuses with open spina bifida.

These criteria are essential for service continuity and patient safety. Only providers which meet these criteria will be considered to be potentially capable.
In addition, each provider is required to confirm, as evidence of its experience, that:
* It currently acts as a regional unit for fetal medicine and paediatric neurosurgery for the wider geographic area that it sits within, and receives referrals from other units for an expert opinion in the diagnosis and open surgery management of women carrying a fetus which is suspected of having open spina bifida;
* It currently undertakes open fetal (pre-natal) surgery to close open spina bifida in fetuses;
* It has in place the required multi-disciplinary team with the expertise and experience to carry out the above activities and can demonstrate this, including fetal surgery counselling, expert and timely fetal MRI scanning and reporting;
* It has the flexibility in its operational capacity to absorb the urgent activity demands for this service.
The contract duration for this service is expected to be 3 years, including an option to extend for an additional 2 years.
This notice is to advise prospective and incumbent 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. It is possible that as a result of this exercise, a formal tender process may not be required but instead a simpler provider selection process will be undertaken. Where it is noted that competition is absent, direct awards may be considered. All providers will be notified of next steps following the conclusion of this market engagement exercise. An assurance process may be required if a direct award is recommended.

The questionnaire is available through the Atamis portal:
https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome

The reference is C126605 and the closing date for submission of the completed questionnaire will be: 12pm midday on Thursday 16th February 2023.

### Procurement Information

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Find a Tender service in the cases listed below
* The contract falls outside the scope of application of the regulation
Explanation
The market engagement exercise revealed a lack of competition in the market for this highly specialised service and responses were received from only 2 providers. As noted in the documentation, 'Commissioners have determined that, given the activity levels and to ensure service resilience and the ability to maintain and develop clinical expertise and experience, the optimum service model is to commission two providers to deliver the service'. Provision was clearly made in the documentation that a direct award would be considered if competition was absent as a result of the market engagement exercise in line with Regulation 32 (2) (b) (ii).

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028599-2023 |
| 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 | 28 Sep 2023 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 19 Jan 2023 |
| Award date | 31 Jul 2023 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £2,068,689 |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NHS ENGLAND |
| Locality | LEEDS |
| Post town | Leeds |
| Postcode | LS2 7UE |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLE Yorkshire and The Humber |
| ITL 2 | TLE4 West Yorkshire |
| ITL 3 | TLE42 Leeds |
| Local authority | Leeds |
| Electoral ward | Little London & Woodhouse |
| Westminster constituency | Leeds Central and Headingley |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 2 |
| Supplier names | UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; UZ LEUVEN |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85000000 - Health and social work services

## Release History

- 28 Sep 2023 at 10:42 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/028599-2023
- 19 Jan 2023 at 16:38 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/001747-2023

## Notice URLs

- https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.ardengemcsu.nhs.uk/
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/
- https://www.uclh.nhs.uk/
- https://www.uzleuven.be/en

## 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-03990a. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-03990a.json.