---
title: "CLINICAL CODER"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-065bb4"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-065bb4"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065bb4.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065bb4.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD"
published: "2026-02-25"
---

# CLINICAL CODER

Buyer: CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-065bb4

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-065bb4)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065bb4.json)

## Summary

The Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is conducting a public procurement process for the services of Accredited Clinical Coders (ACC) to support its Clinical Coding Department in Cardiff, United Kingdom. The procurement is being managed by the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership and aims to meet Welsh Government coding completeness targets. This tender falls under the services category within the healthcare industry and addresses a staffing shortfall impacted by increased remote working opportunities and competitive salaries elsewhere. The contract, which follows a direct award procurement method due to a limited market, will secure agency ACC cover from 1st April 2026 to 31st March 2027. The performance of the coders will be rigorously monitored with expectations of 95% accuracy and penalties for non-compliance with targets. The main procurement stage of this process, the contract award, has been scheduled with notable dates, including the standstill period ending on 6th March 2026 and future signature due on 27th March 2026.

This tender presents significant opportunities for businesses specialising in the provision of healthcare personnel, particularly those capable of supplying adequately skilled and accredited clinical coders. Companies like Placing Talent Limited, a large supplier already identified in the process, exemplify the type of business well-suited to meet this demand. Businesses with expertise in healthcare staffing and the ability to navigate the precise requirements of NHS Wales, including adherence to local and national coding standards, can find growth by contributing solutions to the Health Board's coding challenges. With the Health Board relying increasingly on agency staff due to recruitment difficulties, suppliers that can provide continuity and achieve the expected technical performance stand to benefit considerably from securing such contracts.

## Notice

The Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CAVUHB) requires the provision of Accredited Clinical Coders (ACC) to support the Clinical Coding Department in meeting Welsh Government coding completeness targets. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, CAVUHB has faced significant challenges in recruiting and retaining permanent coding staff due to increased remote-working opportunities across the UK and higher pay offered by English trusts. As a result, the Health Board has become increasingly reliant on agency clinical coders to offset an internal staffing shortfall of approximately 8 WTE.The national market for on-site clinical coders has become highly competitive, with reduced availability among agencies and no single agency able to supply sufficient numbers to meet departmental demand. Consequently, CAVUHB has relied on multiple single-supplier call-offs to ensure continuity of service. This procurement will secure agency ACC cover from April 2026 to March 2027 to maintain operational throughput while permanent recruitment continues.The contract will provide ACCs capable of delivering high-volume, high-accuracy clinical coding across a range of specialities, based on site at UHW and UHL. Coders will work under the direction of the Clinical Coding Manager, following weekly prioritisation instructions and adhering to national and local clinical coding standards. Coders will be required to deliver a minimum agreed output and achieve 95% accuracy, with performance monitored weekly. Failure to meet output or accuracy targets will result in removal of individual coders from the contract.This procurement ensures business continuity, supports statutory reporting requirements, and enables the Health Board to improve coding completeness during a period of staffing shortage. The scope is limited to the Health Records/Clinical Coding Department and will not include additional services outside this remit. The requirement reflects a continuation of existing operational need, with no major changes to service delivery anticipated beyond securing a stable, compliant, and consistent coding resource.

### Procurement Information

The requirement for Accredited Clinical Coders cannot be met through open competition because the national market is extremely constrained, with only a very small number of specialist agencies capable of supplying ACC-qualified coders. These agencies are the only providers with access to a sufficiently trained and accredited workforce, and no reasonable alternative exists that can meet the required technical standards, accuracy levels, and onsite operational requirements within the timescales needed to maintain statutory coding completeness targets. As such, effective competition is not available, and the service can only be provided by suppliers with specialised capability and accreditation, meeting the "technical reasons" justification for a direct award.The required services rely on access to proprietary tools, systems, and protected methodologies that are owned and controlled exclusively by the provider. Only the rights-holder can lawfully supply these elements, and no alternative supplier is permitted to use or replicate the protected components essential for delivering the service to the required standard. As these exclusive rights prevent any other supplier from delivering a compliant or safe service, there is no reasonable substitute or alternative provider available in the market. This aligns with the permitted legal justification for direct award where the protection of exclusive rights makes competition impossible, and therefore supports the use of a Transparency Notice to formally notify the market of the intention to award directly.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016798-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Direct award |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 25 Feb 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 23 Feb 2026 |
| Contract period | 31 Mar 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £388,629 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Pending |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD |
| Additional buyers | NHS WALES SHARED SERVICES PARTNERSHIP (HOSTED BY VELINDRE UNIVERSITY NHS TRUST) |
| Locality | CARDIFF |
| Post town | Cardiff |
| Postcode | CF14 4HH |
| Country | Wales |
| ITL 1 | TLL Wales |
| ITL 2 | TLL5 South East Wales |
| ITL 3 | TLL51 Central Valleys and Bridgend |
| Local authority | Rhondda Cynon Taf |
| Electoral ward | Taff's Well |
| Westminster constituency | Cardiff North |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | PLACING TALENT |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79610000 - Placement services of personnel

## Release History

- 25 Feb 2026 at 11:28 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016798-2026
- 25 Feb 2026 at 09:57 - Award - UK5 - Transparency Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016750-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016798-2026
  25th February 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/016750-2026
  25th February 2026 - Transparency notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://nwssp.nhs.wales/ourservices/procurement-services/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## 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-065bb4. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-065bb4.json.