---
title: "Pathology Managed Equipment Service (MES) - South 4 Pathology Network"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06b135"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06b135"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06b135.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06b135.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Planning"
buyer: "OXFORD UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS TRUST"
published: "2026-06-09"
---

# Pathology Managed Equipment Service (MES) - South 4 Pathology Network

Buyer: OXFORD UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS TRUST  
Current stage: Planning  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06b135

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## Summary

The procurement process led by Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, in collaboration with other trusts in the South 4 Pathology Network, focuses on providing a comprehensive Pathology Managed Equipment Service (MES) to enhance laboratory services. This initiative covers key locations in Oxford, Swindon, Milton Keynes, and Amersham in the United Kingdom, engaging industry categories such as laboratory services, medical equipment, and diagnostic systems. As of 9th June 2026, the procurement is in the Planning stage, with components including document preparation and strategic planning under the competitive flexible procedure. A future notice for potential suppliers is anticipated on 1st October 2026.

This tender offers significant growth opportunities, especially for businesses specialising in medical equipment provision, maintenance, and laboratory services. With a substantial planned value of up to £180 million, the project is designed to improve standardisation, service resilience, and efficiency in pathology services across multiple NHS sites. SMEs and organisations in the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sectors may find this an ideal opportunity, given the contract's suitability for diverse business sizes and its support for sustainable and patient-centred diagnostic innovations.

## Notice

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is undertaking this procurement in its own name and on behalf of the other participating trusts within the South 4 Pathology Network, namely Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The Authority intends to procure a Pathology Managed Equipment Service (MES) to support high-quality, resilient and standardised pathology services across participating sites. The service is expected to cover the provision, installation, commissioning and lifecycle management of pathology laboratory equipment, together with maintenance, servicing, repair, upgrades, replacement planning, training and performance support. The scope of testing is expected to focus primarily on blood sciences and related hospital laboratory services, including biochemistry, haematology, coagulation, serology, immunology, automation and pre-pre-analytics such as specimen tracking and auto-receipting. The service model is expected to include equipment supply through capital and/or leased models, asset management, consumables and reagents where required, inventory and logistics management, interoperability with existing and future LIMS, digital enablement, automation, data and reporting capability, technical support, training and continuous service improvement. The procurement is intended to support network standardisation, service resilience, improved efficiency and turnaround times, and high-quality patient-centred diagnostic services aligned to NHS pathology transformation priorities. It is also expected to contribute to sustainability and social value objectives. The service will be delivered across multiple NHS sites within the South 4 Pathology Network geography, with flexibility for future changes to network configuration. The Authority anticipates awarding either a single supplier or multi-lot contract, with the final structure and contract term to reflect equipment lifecycle and long-term service delivery requirements. **The information provided is indicative only and does not constitute a call for competition or commitment to procure** This pipeline notice is issued in accordance with the requirements of the Procurement Act 2023. F01: Prior Information Notice reference: 2022/S 000-012490 was previously published under PCR2015 for this project. This is an update as the procurement will be undertaken under the new regulations.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054473-2026 |
| Notice type | UK1 - Pipeline Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Not Specified |
| Procurement method details | Competitive flexible procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Planning |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 9 Jun 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | 1 Oct 2026 |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 30 Aug 2029 - 31 Aug 2036 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £150,000,000 |
| 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 | OXFORD UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS NHS TRUST |
| Additional buyers | BUCKINGHAMSHIRE HEALTHCARE NHS TRUST; GREAT WESTERN HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST; MILTON KEYNES UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL NHS FOUNDATION TRUST |
| Locality | OXFORD |
| Post town | Oxford |
| Postcode | OX3 9DU |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLJ South East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLJ1 Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire |
| ITL 3 | TLJ13 Buckinghamshire |
| Local authority | Buckinghamshire |
| Electoral ward | Penn Wood and Old Amersham |
| Westminster constituency | Chesham and Amersham |
| Delivery location | TLJ12 Milton Keynes, TLJ13 Buckinghamshire, TLJ14 Oxfordshire CC, TLK15 Wiltshire |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 33 - Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
- 38 - Laboratory, optical and precision equipments (excl. glasses)
- 50 - Repair and maintenance services
- 51 - Installation services (except software)
- 71 - Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services
- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 33100000 - Medical equipments
- 33124100 - Diagnostic devices
- 33124110 - Diagnostic systems
- 33124130 - Diagnostic supplies
- 33696300 - Chemical reagents
- 33696500 - Laboratory reagents
- 38434000 - Analysers
- 38434550 - Blood-cell counters
- 38434560 - Chemistry analyser
- 38434570 - Haematology analysers
- 38434580 - Immunoassay analysers
- 50421000 - Repair and maintenance services of medical equipment
- 51430000 - Installation services of laboratory equipment
- 71900000 - Laboratory services
- 72267100 - Maintenance of information technology software
- 72268000 - Software supply services
- 72511000 - Network management software services
- 79418000 - Procurement consultancy services

## Release History

- 9 Jun 2026 at 16:25 - Planning - UK1 - Pipeline Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054473-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/054473-2026
  9th June 2026 - Pipeline notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk
- https://www.gwh.nhs.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.mkuh.nhs.uk/
- https://www.ouh.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-06b135. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06b135.json.