Will advance notice improve transparency in the health service?
NHS England has published procurement notices in specialised services for the next two years. The contracts are worth around £28bn.
Public bodies must give notice when they intend to award a contract worth more than £615.278 under EU law.
The notice states there would be an option for NHS England to extend the contracts. The notice also shows an intent to award whole contracts for 2019-21 to the incumbent providers, unless there is interest from elsewhere.
The tenders are split into four different geographic regions, with £7.6bn for the south of England, £10.8bn for London, £9.4bn for the Midlands and East and £862m for the north of England.
The contracts cover a wide range of services from moving and handling equipment and opticians’ services to pathology services and medical equipment, pharmaceutical and personal care products.
Further information
Health Service Journal: NHS England publishes procurement notices for £28bn of contracts
Tenders Direct: Tenders list