Community Diagnostic Hub · UK public procurement notice

Professor Sir Mike Richards’ independent review of NHS diagnostic services, published in October 2020, ‘Diagnostics: Recovery and Renewal’, sets out the case for increasing diagnostic capacity in England and for a new model of diagnostic service provision. One of the key recommendations of the report is for the rapid establishment of Community Diagnostic Hubs (CDHs). NHSEI is committed to supporting the roll out of CDHs, as part of a broader strategy to expand capacity and transform diagnostic provision in England.

CDHs will provide a broad range of elective diagnostic services away from acute facilities, providing easier and quicker access to tests and greater convenience to patients, as well as relieving pressure on acute sites by reducing footfall and increasing diagnostic capacity across the Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care System (BSOL). CDHs also provide an opportunity to re-design clinical pathways that require a range of diagnostic services. The key objective is to increase the totality of diagnostic service provision to meet the needs of the local population.

Following a bidding process across NHSEI Midlands and East Region, BSOL has been selected to progress a Business Case for their first CDH which it is planned to be located in East Birmingham. The timescales for the process are ambitious, with expectations that patients will be diagnosed on site from the end of October 2021.

We are interested to hear from potential providers able to supply some or all of the services indicated below:

• Provision of a staffed mobile MRI scanner
• Provision of a staffed mobile CT scanner
• Radiographers trained in X Ray
• Radiographers trained in Ultrasound
• Echo-cardiographers

Suppliers who are able to offer services relevant to this requirement are invited to express an interest and respond to a market engagement questionnaire. Further details on how to do this are contained within the additional information section of this notice.

This exercise is intended to provide potential bidders with the opportunity to review the Authority's Briefing Document and to provide information regarding the services they can offer that could meet these outline requirements. This builds on the Authority's commitment to engage with the market, by sharing information and seeking input from the market to enable us to develop the final specification and determine the appropriate route to market in a fair and transparent manner.