---
title: "Market Engagement for Third-Party Contingency Support for Decontamination Services in Scotland"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-05d6e2"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-05d6e2"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d6e2.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d6e2.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "THE COMMON SERVICES AGENCY (MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS NHS NATIONAL SERVICES SCOTLAND) (NSS)"
published: "2025-10-30"
---

# Market Engagement for Third-Party Contingency Support for Decontamination Services in Scotland

Buyer: THE COMMON SERVICES AGENCY (MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS NHS NATIONAL SERVICES SCOTLAND) (NSS)  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-05d6e2

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## Summary

The Common Services Agency, known as NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), is currently in the planning phase of a procurement process titled "Market Engagement for Third-Party Contingency Support for Decontamination Services in Scotland." This initiative falls under the goods category and is classified within the decontamination equipment industry, targeting Scotland's central decontamination units (CDUs). The process is seeking market feedback to aid future procurement, with notable deadlines including a response cutoff on 30th November 2025. Located in the UKM region, this project aims to bolster the contingency support required for maintaining the decontamination services critical to the country's healthcare infrastructure.

This tender presents a significant opportunity for businesses capable of providing decontamination and reprocessing services across healthcare facilities. Companies with expertise in delivering flexible, scalable, and resilient decontamination solutions would be well-suited to compete, particularly those adept at meeting stringent regulatory standards. The tender invites businesses to contribute capability statements and innovative solutions that could enhance service resilience, offering potential for growth by becoming a key support mechanism within Scotland's vital healthcare infrastructure. By engaging in this process, businesses can position themselves as essential partners in public health service delivery.

## Notice

The National Decontamination Collaborative Programme is seeking market feedback and information to inform potential future procurement of reserved third-party contingency support for decontamination services across Scotland's 14 Central Decontamination Units (CDUs) reprocessing approximately 40 million instruments every year to service all Scotland's hospitals.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

Background: The main objectives of NHSScotland's decontamination services are: -Clean, disinfect and sterilise Reusable Medical Devices (RMDs) to strict standards, set in national policy and guidance; -deliver the correct set of products at the correct time and places, in accordance with agreement with service users e.g. theatre, clinics etc. CDUs are required to comply with a range of legal and technical requirements, guidance, and documentation systems to process RMDs that are fit for purpose and reduce risks to patient safety. CDUs are registered with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (if applicable) and compliant with Medical Devices Regulations. They must operate their quality management system to BS 13485: 2021 and regulatory requirements. They are audited at least annually by an Approved body. Scotland's CDUs are facing increasing pressure to provide sufficient capacity during unplanned outages. Recent unplanned outages have disrupted service delivery and impacted patient care. There is currently not enough internal contingency processing capacity available to support Boards during such outages. Purpose of this PIN: This PIN is issued as part of a preliminary market consultation. It does not signify the start of a formal procurement process but aims to: -Assess market capability to provide reserved capacity for processing approximately 1.5m re-usable medical devices per year. -Identify suitably accredited suppliers with the reprocessing capabilities to support the range of services supplied by decontamination services -Understand indicative costs for providing such contingency capacity. -Invite innovative solutions and ideas to enhance the resilience of Scotland's decontamination services through additional processing capacity. Key Considerations: -Frequency of contingency support requirement is variable and can't be predicted. The number of un-planned outages tend to impact services for a period of 7 days up to 8 weeks. -Capacity may also be used for increased workload, not just during planned and un-planned outages. -The feedback will inform future strategy and potential procurement options. Next Steps: Interested suppliers are invited to express interest and provide relevant information, including: -Capability statements -Indicative cost information for such services -Suggestions for service resilience and contingency planning

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069633-2025 |
| Notice type | Planning Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Goods |
| 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 | 30 Oct 2025 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 30 Nov 2025 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| 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 | THE COMMON SERVICES AGENCY (MORE COMMONLY KNOWN AS NHS NATIONAL SERVICES SCOTLAND) (NSS) |
| 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 |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 42 - Industrial machinery

### Codes

- 42924720 - Decontamination equipment

## Release History

- 30 Oct 2025 at 10:22 - Planning - Planning Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/069633-2025

## Notice URLs

- http://www.nss.nhs.scot/browse/procurement-and-logistics
- https://api.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/v1/Notice?id=ocds-r6ebe6-0000814261
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/Search/Search_Switch.aspx?ID=814261
- https://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/search/Search_AuthProfile.aspx?ID=AA11883

## 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-05d6e2. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-05d6e2.json.