Pathology framework worth up £250m out to tender

A multi-million pound pathology framework tender has been issued by NHS organisations in the north of England.

The framework agreement has an estimated value of £20 to £250 million and is being run by the North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOE CPC), hosted by the Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust.

The procurement is for pathology analysers or analytical systems that produce pathology results.

The four-year contract is split into two lots. The first covers analysers, analytical systems and associated products and services while the second covers pathology managed service contracts

A spokesperson for the collaborative confirmed it was a renewal of the existing NOE CPC pathology framework agreement, which expires in 2017.

The NOE CPC covers about 80 NHS bodies including CCGs, ambulance trusts, hospital trusts, care trusts and mental health trusts.

Trusts covered by the framework include Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which was hit by major pathology systems failure in September.

It led to major delays in processing test results, including routine blood tests, and the postponement of 147 non-urgent procedures, with some systems still not restored more than two months lates.

Last month, Cancer Research UK published a report that said  investment in digital pathology and data collection will be essential if diagnostic services are to be able to cope in the future.

The nine recommendations include funding the infrastructure required for digital pathology and investing in technology so data can be sent to the Cancer Outcomes and Services Dataset.

However, Suzy Lishman, president of the Royal College of Pathologists, said digital pathology is still in its early stages and “there is not yet sufficient evidence to support its wholesale adoption”.

Suppliers have till 27 January to register.