---
title: "Provision of Infection Sciences Laboratory Testing"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078b59"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078b59"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078b59.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078b59.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "COUNTY DURHAM AND DARLINGTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST"
published: "2026-10-20"
---

# Provision of Infection Sciences Laboratory Testing

Buyer: COUNTY DURHAM AND DARLINGTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078b59

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## Summary

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has commissioned infection sciences laboratory testing that it cannot provide in-house. The work is a healthcare laboratory service, classified as pathology services (CPV 85111800), supporting the Trust’s infection sciences testing requirements. North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust is the selected provider. The service is for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, with delivery recorded in the United Kingdom. This is a single-lot service procurement, rather than a purchase of goods or construction work. The requirement is specifically for external laboratory testing capacity beyond the buying Trust’s in-house provision.

The procurement is complete and has been awarded to North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust through a direct award under Provider Selection Regime 2023, without competition and below threshold. The award was made on 28 September 2026, at a gross value of £131,708.33. The contract period runs from 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2029, with two optional 12-month extensions that could extend the arrangement to 31 March 2031. There is one lot. The process records no separate evaluation criteria; the route was a direct award rather than a competitive evaluation. The stated basis for the requirement is that the testing cannot be delivered in-house by County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

For suppliers considering comparable work for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, this award demonstrates demand for outsourced infection sciences laboratory testing where the Trust’s own facilities cannot meet the requirement. A credible competitor would need to provide the relevant pathology testing service and demonstrate capacity to take on work beyond the Trust’s in-house provision. The selected provider is another NHS foundation trust, indicating that an NHS laboratory provider has been judged suitable for this requirement. The procurement was made by direct award under the Provider Selection Regime, so the recorded outcome does not establish a competitive scoring model or specific technical accreditations. Suppliers should focus on their ability to deliver the required laboratory testing service at the scale of a defined, single-lot healthcare contract.

## Notice

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) intend to award a contract via Direct Award Process C under Provider Selection Regime 2023 to North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust for the provision of Infection Sciences Laboratory Testing that cannot be provided in-house. This is to be for a period of 29 months with 2 x 12 months optional extension.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098746-2026 |
| Notice type | UK6 - Contract Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Direct |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - without competition |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 20 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 28 Sep 2026 |
| Contract period | 1 Nov 2026 - 31 Mar 2029 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £131,708 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

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

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | COUNTY DURHAM AND DARLINGTON NHS FOUNDATION TRUST |
| Locality | DARLINGTON |
| Postcode area | Darlington |
| Postcode | DL3 6HX |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLC North East (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLC3 Tees Valley |
| ITL 3 | TLC33 Darlington |
| Local authority | Darlington |
| Electoral ward | Pierremont |
| Westminster constituency | Darlington |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 85 - Health and social work services

### Codes

- 85111800 - Pathology services

## Release History

- 20 Oct 2026 at 08:49 - Award - UK6 - Contract Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098746-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/098746-2026
  20th October 2026 - Contract award notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- http://www.cddft.nhs.uk
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.ncic.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-078b59. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078b59.json.