---
title: "Blood Culture pathway- Health economic analysis"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-06ef1b"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-06ef1b"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef1b.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef1b.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "NHS England"
published: "2026-09-01"
---

# Blood Culture pathway- Health economic analysis

Buyer: NHS England  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-06ef1b

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## Summary

NHS England is commissioning a health economic analysis of the blood culture pathway in England. The work will use real-world English data to estimate the clinical and financial effects of improving pre-analytical blood culture practices, supporting future national guidance on diagnostics and care pathways for detecting infection and reducing antimicrobial resistance. The supplier will update an existing model, validate inputs, assumptions and results with subject matter experts, add detail on resource use, costs and benefits, and conduct further analyses. It will also develop a flexible interface for organisations to enter their own data and generate trust-specific outcomes and business cases. The work includes developing the report into a manuscript and submitting it for peer-reviewed publication, with the strategic aim of improving sepsis outcomes and saving lives.

The procurement has reached tender: NHS England invited offers through a below-threshold open competition. It comprises one lot for health services and social research services. Enquiries were due by 15 September 2026 at 12:00, and bids were due by 5 October 2026 at 12:00. The contract period is 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027. Its estimated value is £72,000 excluding VAT and £84,000 including VAT. Bids are submitted electronically through the Atamis e-tendering portal, with suppliers also required to register on the Central Digital Platform. Evaluation is weighted 80% quality, including 10% social value, and 20% commercial or price criteria.

This opportunity suits suppliers with demonstrated expertise in health economics, clinical pathway analysis and antimicrobial resistance or sepsis-related research. Strong capability in working with real-world English healthcare data is central, alongside the ability to build, update and test economic models and translate clinical evidence into financial and resource-use analysis. The work requires engagement with subject matter experts to validate assumptions and results, and the ability to produce additional analytical scenarios. Suppliers should also be able to design a flexible data-input interface that generates organisation-specific outcomes and business cases. Experience preparing substantial technical reports and converting research into manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication would be well aligned with the requirement.

## Notice

o create an economic model with real world data (RWD) to estimate the clinical and financial impacts of improving the pre-analytical phase of the blood culture practices in England. This will be used to inform future national guidance on specific diagnostics and care pathways for detecting infection and reducing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). Key objectives of this project To update the model with English RWD wherever possible. To validate the model inputs, assumptions and results with subject matter experts (SMEs). To update the report accordingly. To include additional levels of detail within the model, to more accurately capture the resource use, costs and benefits of optimising the blood culture pathway. To conduct additional analyses in the existing model, addressing other challenges. To design and develop a flexible interface for users inputting their own data and generate trust-specific outcomes and business cases. To develop the report into a manuscript. To submit the manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal (+/- submission to a pre-print journal) and provide peer-reviewed, referenceable evidence. Strategic rationale This aims to support the necessary changes in the blood culture pathway to save lives and improve patient outcomes from sepsis.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082428-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - open competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 1 Sep 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 5 Oct 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Nov 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £72,000 |
| Lots value | £72,000 |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | NHS England |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South East London |
| Postcode | SE1 8UG |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI4 Inner London - East |
| ITL 3 | TLI45 Lambeth |
| Local authority | Lambeth |
| Electoral ward | Waterloo & South Bank |
| Westminster constituency | Vauxhall and Camberwell Green |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security
- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 79315000 - Social research services
- 85100000 - Health services

## Release History

- 1 Sep 2026 at 08:13 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082428-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/082428-2026
  1st September 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=eb1753edb44220b8d2326ad326029f953cc2dd6894f1e81c08b2cbf3c96aec71JmltdHM9MTc4NjQ5MjgwMA&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=4&fclid=2b8a3440-c067-64cb-04d8-2319c1ca65d4&psq=atamis+portal&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly9zdXBwbGllcnN1cHBvcnQuYXRhbWlzLmNvLnVrL2hjL2VuLWdiL2FydGljbGVzLzQ2MTQ1Nzk4NDkxMTktTG9naW4tdG8tdGhlLVBvcnRhbA
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-act-2023-short-guides/suppliers-how-to-register-your-organisation-and-first-administrator-on-find-a-tender-in-three-easy-steps-html
- 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-06ef1b. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-06ef1b.json.