Managed Pathology / Equipment Service

CW is seeking to purchase a managed equipment service (MES) that will provide, as a minimum, the necessary equipment, materials, servicing and maintenance as well as software to allow CW to process approximately 455,000 CT/NG PCR tests per annum, across four sites. The Trust is seeking a solution that will provide the best balance of performance (in terms of turnaround time), quality, reliability, ease of use, space utilisation and cost efficiency. Consequently, suppliers can propose single or multi-site solutions but must take account of the following and the full requirements when submitting their proposals:

The target Turnaround Time (TAT) is for tests to be predictable, measured as 80% within target time, turnaround time. It can be assumed that this time excludes receipt and registration but must include all sample tracking, preparation, batching, equipment run-time, validation and result transmission via the agreed interface to the clinic management system. The TAT target should allow for any breakdowns as well as planned and unplanned service costs. There must be sufficient redundancy in the system to accommodate this.

Suppliers must specify the workforce that will be required to safely operate the proposed system. This will factor into the financial evaluation and, will also be a consideration when setting the KPIs. Staff activities that should be allowed for must include all throughput and non-throughput related activities directly related to testing, including sample processing, materials management, equipment operation and maintenance, quality control activities and waste management. For costing purposes, supplier should specify FTEs to staff any proposed testing site, as per the operating hours outlined in the tender documentation.

The requirement is for testing to be available at any of the four sites across Central London. If the proposal is for some of these sites to be serviced through a centralised testing model, with samples being transported between sites, this will be reflected in the financial proposal. However, CW will be responsible for providing inter-site transport and this will not form part of the scope of the MES. The time to transport samples between sites will not count towards the target TAT as stated above. Suppliers should, however, allow for peak hourly demand, including the transport delay, when determining capacity requirements.

Suppliers should clearly state the total installed capacity that is available and the percentage of this capacity that will be available in case of critical failures of at least one instrument.

The Trust has a strong preference for work to be performed within the confines of the clinic and no space has been allocated for laboratory testing operations outside of the current clinic footprint. The available space per site is set in the tender documentation and should there be a need to expand beyond this space, this will be accounted for in the financial evaluation.

The four sites in scope are:

• 10 Hammersmith Broadway Clinic
• John Hunter Clinic for Sexual Health
• 56 Dean Street Clinic
• West Middlesex University Hospital Sexual Health Clinic