---
title: "HWE ICB, ENHT - Microbiology and Virology Services"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0410f0"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0410f0"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0410f0.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0410f0.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "NHS HERTFORDSHIRE AND WEST ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD"
published: "2023-11-01"
---

# HWE ICB, ENHT - Microbiology and Virology Services

Buyer: NHS HERTFORDSHIRE AND WEST ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0410f0

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## Summary

The Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board and East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust are planning a procurement process for Microbiology and Virology Services. The contract aims to provide GP Direct Access work and non-urgent tests, totalling over 400,000 per annum. Interested parties with experience in delivering such services should respond by 22nd November 2023. The service is expected to start on 1st April 2024 and will include testing, logistics, and supplier LIMS connectivity. The buying organisation is the NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board.

This tender opportunity presents a chance for businesses experienced in providing Microbiology and Virology services to NHS organisations to compete for a contract valued at £4,500,000 GBP. Businesses capable of handling large-scale testing volumes and willing to meet the specified service requirements are encouraged to engage with the market. The tender is planned under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, with a future notice expected on 4th December 2023. The location for service delivery is specified as the UKH region, targeting providers within the healthcare industry specialized in pathology services.

## Notice

The Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (the "ICB") and East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust (the "Trust") are seeking Microbiology and Virology Services for GP Direct Access work and non-urgent tests for the Trust (the "Contract").

The Contract is to replace an existing contract that is being terminated and will run until a procurement is completed to establish a full Pathology Network Service across the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care System area.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

The Microbiology and Virology Services under the Contract must start on 1 April 2024.

It is anticipated that the term of the Contract will be for one year with options to extend for two periods of six months although final details will be confirmed in any future procurement process.

The GP Direct Access work is for approximately 38 practices or Health Centres within the area of the former East and North Hertfordshire CCG. 

The tests total in excess of 400,000 per annum. The breakdown for the last full year is available on request.

The Service must be running by 31st March 2024 and will include:
* Testing Service.
* Logistics to collect samples from GP practices and the Trust.
* Supplier LIMS connected to the Trust and GP via ICE Order Communications to enable ordering of tests and communication of results.

Taking account of the above and the short time available to the ICB and the Trust to run a procurement process, anyone with experience of delivering large scale volumes of Microbiology and Virology tests to NHS organisations and who could deliver the Services under the Contract from 1 April 2024 should respond to this notice by 22nd November 2023.

This will then inform the ICB and Trust's procurement strategy for the Contract. The ICB and Trust anticipate that an accelerated procurement process could be required. Additional information: Please note that this is not a call for competition and no Contract will be awarded as a result of this pre-market engagement exercise.

Following market engagement, should the ICB and Trust need to run a competitive procurement exercise, a further notice will be published in Find a Tender to start any formal procurement process.

Any resulting procurement process that starts prior to 1 January 2024 will be subject to the so-called "Light Touch Regime" under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. 

The ICB and the Trust are not responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties participating in this market engagement exercise.

This market engagement is being administered via the Atamis e-Tendering Portal (https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome) - ref C220900. Interested parties should contact the named buyer via email to martyn.richardson@nhs.net.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/032302-2023 |
| 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 |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Nov 2023 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 4 Dec 2023 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £4,500,000 |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Planned |
| Lots status | Planned |
| Awards status | Not specified |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NHS HERTFORDSHIRE AND WEST ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD |
| Additional buyers | EAST AND NORTH HERTFORDSHIRE NHS TRUST; HERTFORDSHIRE AND WEST ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD |
| Locality | WELWYN GARDEN CITY |
| Post town | St Albans |
| Postcode | AL8 6JL |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLH East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLH2 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLH26 North and East Hertfordshire |
| Local authority | Stevenage |
| Electoral ward | Woodfield |
| Westminster constituency | Stevenage |
| Delivery location | TLH East (England) |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85111800 - Pathology services

## Release History

- 1 Nov 2023 at 13:11 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/032302-2023

## Notice URLs

- http://www.hertsprocurement.nhs.uk/joomla/
- https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://hertsandwestessex.icb.nhs.uk/
- https://www.enherts-tr.nhs.uk/
- https://www.hertsandwestessex.icb.nhs.uk/

## 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-0410f0. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0410f0.json.