Stockpile resilience for the supply of Enteral Feed and Consumables for COVID-19 Patients

The Government must protect the health and well-being of UK citizens. The COVID-19 outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) as declared by the World Health Organisation on 30 Jan 2020. The WHO Director General characterised COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 Mar 2020. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has (on behalf of NHS bodies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) awarded four contracts in preparation for the expected Winter/Spring surge in COVID-19 hospital ICU admissions. The aim was to create a stockpile of Enteral Feed and the associated consumables needed to administer the feed into patients, ensuring a continuity of supply of these essential life-saving products.These four contracts were awarded to the following organisations:- Abbott Laboratories Limited;- Fresenius Kabi Ltd;- Nutricia Ltd;- Nutricia Ireland LtdThe specific goods include:- Enteral water, - High protein enteral tube feed - Enteral pumps specifically compatible for giving these specific goods. The aggregated maximum value of this contract's initial term is estimated to be £5,412,000.00 + VAT. The volumes identified are based on clinically identified and validated assumptions. The four Contracts commenced 1st October 2020 and expire on 30th June 2021 and contain an option to extend to a maximum of 30 June 2022 (in order to respond to further waves and surges).Each hospital across these NHS bodies have pre-existing contracts in place for the same product ranges procured under these contracts, with the awarded suppliers. These NHS Bodies have pre-existing capital equipment installed for the purpose of administering enteral feed to patients under their care. The manufacturer of that capital equipment also supplies the enteral feed and the associated consumables to be used with their equipment. The feed and consumables required as part of this stockpile are tied to the manufacturer of installed capital equipment (i.e., one manufacturer’s feed or consumables is not compatible with another manufacturer’s equipment). All of these products have been clinically accepted at each organisation, and the staff have already been trained on their appropriate use. DHSC has awarded contracts to three manufacturers whose installed capital equipment base provides coverage across the majority of the NHS bodies, to ensure sufficient volume of the enteral feed and consumables products. Each awarded supplier is required to: manufacture above their annual Business As Usual (BAU) volumes of products; store and manage a stockpile of those products; and distribute through each NHS bodies established procurement and logistics routes. DHSC is not purchasing the stock up front – this will be purchased by the NHS in their usual way. However, any unsold above BAU products remaining at the end of the contract will be bought by DHSC, allowing DHSC to ensure the NHS has available sufficient volume of product available when needed. Please note that:1. The Contract Award Notice will also need to be published in OJEU, as the procurement activities began prior to the UK leaving the EU on the 31st December 2020. However, the system is experiencing a technical delay in dual publishing, and the Contract Award Notice will be submitted to OJEU in the coming weeks once this issue has been resolved.2. A copy of the four redacted contracts has been published on the Contracts Finder portal.3. One of the awarded suppliers (Nutricia) required that two contracts were entered into to cover (a) England, Wales and Scotland and (b) Northern Ireland, as they operate as different businesses in theses territories.