---
title: "SWB - Supportive Discharge Transport Service"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-078fd3"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-078fd3"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078fd3.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078fd3.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Tender"
buyer: "Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust"
published: "2026-10-26"
---

# SWB - Supportive Discharge Transport Service

Buyer: Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust  
Current stage: Tender  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-078fd3

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## Summary

Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust is buying a supportive discharge transport service for patients across the Black Country, with The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust named as an optional beneficiary. The service is for vulnerable, often frail or elderly patients whose discharge depends on transport arriving at a specific time, such as to meet a same-day social care assessment. It must use appropriate vehicles and reliably coordinate discharge arrangements with other system partners. Support includes a short period at the destination to help ensure the patient is safe and has essentials such as heating, food and fluids until care staff arrive. Journeys may also include an ad-hoc pharmacy stop to collect discharge medication. The requirement is intended to help patients get home safely and support timely hospital discharges.

The buyer invited offers through an open procedure. The procurement is one lot, with economic and technical selection requirements set out in the tender documents. Evaluation weights the technical questionnaire, covering qualitative and social value, at 70%, and cost at 30%. Questions were due by 26 October 2026 at 10:30am, and bids by 23 November 2026 at 12 noon. The award decision was due by 14 December 2026. The initial contract runs from 1 February 2027 to 31 January 2030, with two possible 12-month extensions, up to 31 January 2032. The estimated value is £250,000 excluding VAT (£300,000 including VAT). The contract pays invoices within 30 days. The tender reached the invitation-to-offer stage; no cancellation or withdrawal is recorded.

This opportunity suits passenger transport providers able to deliver a dependable, patient-focused service for people who may be frail or otherwise vulnerable. Suppliers need to coordinate precise collection and arrival times with hospitals, social care and other partners, and to accommodate complex discharge plans, including journeys with a pharmacy stop. The work also requires more than conveyance: staff must be able to provide a brief, appropriate check at the destination, such as confirming that the patient is safe and has access to heating, food and fluids while awaiting care. Providers should be able to supply suitable vehicles and deliver a reliable service across the Black Country. Small and medium-sized businesses and voluntary, community or social enterprises are identified as suitable to compete.

## Notice

This Tender process is being undertaken on behalf of the Black Country ICS Trusts (The Authority/Authorities) as named below: * Sandwell & West Birmingham NHS Trust * The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust (optional beneficiary) A bespoke solution is required to support patients who rely on a supportive and specifically-timed transport service to co-ordinate complex discharge plans - for example, to be sure to have returned home at a specific time for a same-day social care assessment. Before the inception of a bespoke transport solutions for this patient cohort, patients were facing delays and system resource was wasted through delays in the standard patient transport offer. By nature, this bespoke service supports those who are vulnerable, and often frail / elderly, and such a service also requires a short additional period to ensure the person is safe and well at their destination - for example, ensuring the heating is on and that they have access to food and fluids until the care agency attend. Finally, the ability to include ad-hoc journeys e.g. travelling via a pharmacy to collect discharge medications, before collecting the person and taking them home, represents improved patient experience, reduction in risk and facilitates timely discharges, which might otherwise add hours or even days to a person's hospital stay. The Trust is committed to providing a high quality, patient focussed service. This specification reflects the overall requirements of the Trust's requirements for a supportive transport service, for patients to be conveyed in appropriate vehicles and for their discharge arrangements to be reliably co-ordinated between system partners. The initial contract period is estimated to be 01/02/2027 to 31/09/2030 (3 years) with the option to extend for up to 2 further years.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100854-2026 |
| Notice type | UK4 - Tender Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Open |
| Procurement method details | Open procedure |
| Tender suitability | SME, VCSE |
| Awardee scale | Not specified |
| All stages | Tender |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 26 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | 23 Nov 2026 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Feb 2027 - 31 Jan 2030 |
| Recurrence | 2032-10-18 |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | £250,000 |
| Lots value | £250,000 |
| 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 | Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust |
| Additional buyers | The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust |
| Locality | BIRMINGHAM |
| Postcode area | Birmingham |
| Postcode | B18 7QH |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands |
| ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham |
| Local authority | Birmingham |
| Electoral ward | Soho & Jewellery Quarter |
| Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood |
| Delivery location | TLG3 West Midlands, TLG36 Dudley, TLG37 Sandwell |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 60 - Transport services (excl. Waste transport)

### Codes

- 60130000 - Special-purpose road passenger-transport services

## Release History

- 26 Oct 2026 at 10:12 - Tender - UK4 - Tender Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100854-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/100854-2026
  26th October 2026 - Tender notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://services.atamis.co.uk/docs/Supplier_User_Guide.pdf
- https://www.dgft.nhs.uk/
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents
- https://www.swbh.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-078fd3. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-078fd3.json.