Scope
Reference
C396618
Description
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) is initiating a preliminary market engagement exercise in preparation for a formal procurement of Network Support Services. UHB is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England, operating multiple hospital sites including Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Heartlands Hospital, Good Hope Hospital, and Solihull Hospital, alongside community and specialist clinics.
The Trust seeks to engage with suppliers capable of delivering a comprehensive, secure, and future-ready network infrastructure service that supports clinical operations, research, and enterprise IT across its estate.
The future contract will encompass the management, support, and strategic development of the following:
• Core Network (Cisco): High-availability backbone designed to vendor best practice and resilient architecture
• Datacentre Network (Cisco): Supporting mission-critical clinical and Trust systems with high throughput and disaster recovery capability
• Distribution Layer (Cisco): Scalable and resilient aggregation for Trust and campus connectivity.
• Access Layer (Cisco, Extreme): Managed wired connectivity across the Trust estate, providing reliable access for clinical and administrative users
• Wi-Fi Infrastructure (Cisco & Extreme): High-density wireless coverage to support mobile devices, laptops, clinical equipment, and guest access
• Network Access Control (Forescout): Policy-based access control, device profiling, and integration with security monitoring solutions
• Firewall Services (Fortigate): Perimeter and internal segmentation firewalls, configured for high availability and compliant with Trust, NHS, and NCSC requirements
• VPN Services (FortiClient & FortiAuthenticator): Secure remote access, MFA integration, and scalability to support hybrid working
• Wide Area Network (WAN): Site-to-site connectivity across hospitals, community services, and cloud providers, with resilience, bandwidth optimisation, and QoS management
• Emerging Technologies (e.g., GPON, SD-WAN): Capability to adopt and support evolving network technologies
Additional requirements include:
• Monitoring, Management, and Reporting Tools: Centralised NOC operations, SLA reporting, capacity planning, and integration with Trust monitoring systems
• Future-Proofing and Scalability: Cloud readiness, multi-vendor integration, and support for NHS interoperability standards
• Cyber Security and Compliance: Cyber resilience, vulnerability management, and compliance with NHS Digital, NCSC, and ISO27001
• Training and Knowledge Transfer: Provision of skills uplift and vendor certification to UHB IT staff
• Lifecycle Management: Planning and execution of hardware refreshes, software updates, and end-of-life transitions
Contract dates (estimated)
- 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2028
- Possible extension to 31 December 2030
- 4 years
Main procurement category
Services
CPV classifications
- 72315000 - Data network management and support services
Engagement
Engagement deadline
29 October 2025
Engagement process description
Potential suppliers are requested to respond to the requirements, as detailed in the Briefing Document UHB Network Support Sevices with confirmation of ability to meet the requirement, a description of how their product meets the requirement.
Procurement Process
The procurement process will be subject to further approvals and this Pre-Market Engagement Exercise will help form the tender process so currently, the route to market is unknown.
Suppliers wishing to participate in this market engagement exercise and express an interest in this requirement should respond to the questionnaire via the online form on the Health Family Single eCommercial System Portal (Atamis) by 13:00 on Wednesday 29th October 2025.
https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome
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Participation
Particular suitability
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME)
Contracting authority
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
- Public Procurement Organisation Number: PWVL-6877-BXXV
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2GW
United Kingdom
Contact name: Andrew Gough
Email: andrew.gough2@uhb.nhs.uk
Region: UKG31 - Birmingham
Organisation type: Public authority - central government