The Contracting Authorities are looking to award a contract for the provision of pathology services to all the organisations abovementioned, which may involve multiple contracts (for example for analytics and managed laboratory services).

The current expectation is that the pathology services will need to cover the full range of pathology disciplines (although potential bidders should be aware that the scope of the pathology services will be subject to change to reflect discussions during competitive dialogue, changes in test repertoires and the introduction of new test types).

This procurement is being led by Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust on its own behalf and on behalf of the following Contracting Authorities: West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trusts, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, West Essex CCG, East and North Herts CCG, Herts Valleys CCG (the ‘Core Contracting Authorities’). The total activity per annum for the Core Contracting Authorities is approximately 15 000 000 tests (subject to change after further analysis).

The range of pathology services required includes: blood sciences (including 24/7 provision on site), immunology, infectious sciences (including on-call), cellular pathology, specialist hematology, specialist chemistry, molecular, specialist services, central specimen reception, phlebotomy, anti-coagulation, patient service reception, clinics, A&E, and POCT. Refer to procurement documents for further information. The scope of services required is likely to change during the procurement.