Official UK procurement notice
West of England Pathology Network - Digital Histopathology
Authority: Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (Central government)·On behalf of: ROYAL UNITED HOSPITALS BATH NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThe West of England Pathology Network (WoEPN) are looking to contract with a single supplier to provide an end-to-end digital histopathology pathway; to include an Image Management System (IMS), scanners, monitors and associated hardware. It should link seamlessly into Trust's LIMs and include storage. Linkages with 3rd party AI providers is also required
We are looking to contract with a single supplier to provide all aspects of the above requirement, further details to be provided within the specification.
The West of England Pathology Network consists of :
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
North Bristol NHS Trust
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
UKHSA
The procurement will be run through Bristol and Weston Purchasing Consortium and as such will use their e-procurement system SAP Ariba, bidders will need register to ensure access to the RFI, tender and communications - supplier.ariba.com ↗
Details, timelines and values are subject to change. RFI is currently aimed to be released on the 30/05/25 (subject to change). Please register your interest to Fiona.Lowther@nbt.nhs.uk by the 6th of June 2025. Response to this, although useful, is not mandatory and will not restrict suppliers from bidding. Please see timeline within the RFI for full details when published.
EDIT - 30/05/2025 RFI has now been published on link discovery.ariba.com/rfx/23199544 ↗
CPV: Biomedical equipment · Communication software package · Compliance software package · IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support · Imaging equipment for medical, dental and veterinary use · Medical computer equipment · Medical information systems · Medical software package · Pathology services · Platform interconnectivity software package · Storage management software package · System management software package
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 4 yrs 2 mo from 1 Oct 2026
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedWhat it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
- “West of England Pathology Network - Digital Histopathology” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Past planning notice
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 16 May 2025, 11:58 BST
- Last source update
- 30 May 2025, 11:08 BST
- Authority reference
WS2507441258- FTS notice number
2025/S 000-028705- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-0515aaFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
16 May 2025 → 1 Oct 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published16 May 2025, 11:58 BST
- Latest notice published30 May 2025, 11:08 BST
- Market engagement31 Aug 2025, 23:59 BST
Early Supplier engagement has commenced via Teams calls with suppliers to enable the procurement function to understand the market in order to create a successful RFI stage. A RFI will be published shortly to allow a full range of suppliers to express interest and respond to the RFI questions. There will be a non scored for information only demo (virtual) to follow which will be for the suppliers who respond to the RFI and express interest. During the RFI process there will be the option to submit clarification questions and view a draft specification for the contract.
EDIT - 30/05/2025 - RFI has now been published on link - discovery.ariba.com/rfx/23199544 ↗
- Contract starts28 days ago1 Oct 2026, 00:00 BST
Notice history
2 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 16 May 2025- Preliminary market engagement notice published16 May 2025, 11:58 BSTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published30 May 2025, 11:08 BSTUK2
Published amendments (1)
Updated to confirm RFI is now available to access and respond via SAP Ariba site - https://discovery.ariba.com/rfx/23199544
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Pipeline notice- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
4 public bodies on the noticeOther public bodies
- GLOUCESTERSHIRE HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUSTProcuring entityEvaluators of procurement, framework member
- ROYAL UNITED HOSPITALS BATH NHS FOUNDATION TRUSTProcuring entityEvaluator of procurement, framework member
- SOMERSET NHS FOUNDATION TRUSTProcuring entityEvaluator of procurement, framework member
Official documents & specifications (2)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender