Scope
Reference
C338836
Description
This is a community EPR for women and children.
Contract 1
Supplier
Contract value
- £208,267 excluding VAT
- £249,921 including VAT
Below the relevant threshold
Earliest date the contract will be signed
7 October 2025
Contract dates (estimated)
- 7 October 2025 to 15 September 2027
- 1 year, 11 months, 9 days
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 48000000 - Software package and information systems
- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
Contract locations
- UKC - North East (England)
- UKD - North West (England)
- UKE - Yorkshire and the Humber
- UKF - East Midlands (England)
- UKG - West Midlands (England)
- UKH - East of England
- UKI - London
- UKJ - South East (England)
- UKK - South West (England)
Participation
Particular suitability
Voluntary, community and social enterprises (VCSE)
Procedure
Procedure type
Direct award
Special regime
Light touch
Direct award justification
- Single supplier - technical reasons
- Additional or repeat goods, services or works - extension or partial replacement
Key justifications
Single-supplier technical dependency: The current Community EPR is deeply integrated with local workflows, interfaces, device endpoints, and vendor-specific data structures, making immediate replacement technically impractical and unsafe.
Continuity of clinical care and patient safety: Any interruption, parallel migration, or hurried cutover risks data loss, access delays, and clinical safety incidents for core community services.
Interoperability with existing systems: The incumbent provides proven, live interfaces to acute EPRs, pathology, community devices, and commissioning feeds that would require time-consuming re-engineering if changed.
Data migration and integrity risk: Preserving a stable supported platform until a carefully planned migration reduces the likelihood of corrupted historical records, audit gaps, and downtime.
Co-terming and strategic procurement alignment: Extending the incumbent allows the Trust to co-term community and acute solutions so the forthcoming competitive procurement can target a single, comprehensive EPR, improving future competition and total cost of ownership.
Time required for safe procurement and transition: A competitive tender, detailed clinical evaluation, implementation planning, and a safe transition window require a multi‑year runway that a direct award extension provides.
Value for money compared with stop-gap replacement: Replacing the system now would incur duplicate costs for parallel licensing, re-training, new interfaces, and accelerated implementation premiums, which outweigh a limited extension to the incumbent.
Supplier capability and service continuity: Access UK Ltd has demonstrable operational support, local experience, and existing contractual responsibility for system maintenance and clinical uptime.
Financial and commercial rationale
Avoidance of sunk and duplicate costs: Extending the incumbent prevents immediate duplication of licensing, integration, and training costs that would be unavoidable with a fast replacement.
Controlled procurement spend: A fixed-term extension allows budgeting and consolidation of bids in the downstream tender, improving negotiation leverage and total contract value control.
Reasonable short-term pricing lever: The direct award can include performance and pricing reviews to protect value for money during the extension term.
Supplier
ACCESS UK LTD
- Companies House: 02343760
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PBNW-7697-HCPQ
Armstrong Building Oakwood Drive
Loughborough
LE11 3QF
United Kingdom
Email: servelec.lg.bids@theaccessgroup.com
Website: http://www.theaccessgroup.com
Region: UKF22 - Leicestershire CC and Rutland
Small or medium-sized enterprise (SME): No
Voluntary, community or social enterprise (VCSE): No
Contract 1
Contracting authority
NORTH CUMBRIA INTEGRATED CARE NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
- NHS Organisation Data Service: RNN
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PDXN-7482-RVVM
Cumberland Infirmary, NCIC Trust HQ, Pillars Building, Infirmary Street
Carlisle
CA2 7HY
United Kingdom
Email: ncicpurchasing@mbht.nhs.uk
Website: https://www.ncic.nhs.uk/
Region: UKD12 - East Cumbria
Organisation type: Public authority - central government