Section one: Contracting authority
one.1) Name and addresses
NHS England
7-8 Wellington Place
Leeds
LS1 4AP
Contact
Collette Palmer
Country
United Kingdom
Region code
UKE - Yorkshire and the Humber
Justification for not providing organisation identifier
Not on any register
Internet address(es)
Main address
one.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
one.5) Main activity
Health
Section two: Object
two.1) Scope of the procurement
two.1.1) Title
Corneal Tissue
two.1.2) Main CPV code
- 85000000 - Health and social work services
two.1.3) Type of contract
Services
two.1.4) Short description
To increase corneal tissue supply and create a sustainable supply for the future to meet the clinical demand for this potentially sight saving surgery.
NHS England has agreed a national contract and centralised budget for the supply of corneal tissue, including non-recurrent investment to enable NHSBT to expand specialist eye donation teams in England.
two.1.6) Information about lots
This contract is divided into lots: No
two.1.7) Total value of the procurement (excluding VAT)
Value excluding VAT: £43,000,000
two.2) Description
two.2.3) Place of performance
NUTS codes
- UK - United Kingdom
Main site or place of performance
NHS Blood and Transplant
two.2.4) Description of the procurement
Contract award for corneal tissue to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) under the urgent circumstances provision - Regulation 14 (2), in line with the Provider Selection Regime (PSR):
(a) an award or modification must be made urgently,
(b) the reason for the urgency was not foreseeable by and not attributable to the relevant authority, and
(c) delaying the award of the contract or modification to satisfy the requirements of regulations 6 to 13 would be likely to pose a risk to patient or public safety,
For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award.
The annual contract value is approximately £8.8million and is variable depending on the volume supplied) and the lifetime value of the contract over the full (potential) 7 years is £43,000,000. The service start date is 1st April 2024 and the end date is 31st March 3031, assuming options to extend are taken up.
two.2.5) Award criteria
Quality criterion - Name: to address immediate risks to safety and quality of care / Weighting: 100
Price - Weighting: 0
two.2.11) Information about options
Options: Yes
Description of options
There is an option to extend the initial 5 year contract period by an additional 2 years
Section four. Procedure
four.1) Description
four.1.1) Type of procedure
Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the cases listed below
- The procurement falls outside the scope of application of the regulations
Explanation:
This contract is awarded under the urgent circumstances provision - Regulation 14 (2):
(a) an award or modification must be made urgently,
(b) the reason for the urgency was not foreseeable by and not attributable to the relevant authority, and
(c) delaying the award of the contract or modification to satisfy the requirements of regulations 6 to 13 would be likely to pose a risk to patient or public safety,
For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award
four.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: Yes
Section five. Award of contract
A contract/lot is awarded: Yes
five.2) Award of contract
five.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract
1 April 2024
five.2.2) Information about tenders
Number of tenders received: 1
The contract has been awarded to a group of economic operators: No
five.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
NHS Blood and Transplant
500 North Bristol Park
Filton, Bristol
BS34 7QH
Country
United Kingdom
NUTS code
- UKK - South West (England)
Justification for not providing organisation identifier
Not on any register
The contractor is an SME
No
five.2.4) Information on value of contract/lot (excluding VAT)
Initial estimated total value of the contract/lot: £43,000,000
Total value of the contract/lot: £43,000,000
Section six. Complementary information
six.3) Additional information
This contract has been awarded under the urgent circumstances provision of the Provider Selection Regime (PSR). This contract has been awarded under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023. For the avoidance of doubt, the provisions of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 do not apply to this award.
An award under urgent circumstance was necessary due to the need for NHSBT to make urgent changes to increase the supply of corneal tissue. A delay in the award of this contract would likely result in continued tissue shortage and resulting excess patient waits for access to potentially sight saving surgery. This urgent circumstance award means that investment plans can be built in to a contract for the required increase corneal tissue supply and that the required financial adjustments could be made within ICB allocations.
The contract length is greater than 12 months as the requirement to increase corneal supply extends beyond a year given the lead in time to establish the eye retrieval services and current clinical demand / donated tissue supply. The contract also facilitates national strategic planning between NHS England and NHSBT for the provision of corneal tissue.
The decision was approved on 26th March 2024 by the Delegated Commissioning Group (DCG). No conflicts of interest were identified.
six.4) Procedures for review
six.4.1) Review body
NHS Arden and GEM CSU
St Johns House
Leicester
LE1 6NB
Country
United Kingdom
Internet address
https://www.ardengemcsu.nhs.uk/
six.4.2) Body responsible for mediation procedures
NHS Arden and GEM CSU
Leicester
Country
United Kingdom
six.4.4) Service from which information about the review procedure may be obtained
NHS Arden and GEM CSU
Leicester
Country
United Kingdom