UK Public Sector Contracts & Tenders

The contract will initially be delivered for NHS-funded care in England and Wales for a period of 3 years, at a maximum total budget of up to £11,145,600 GBP including VAT, £9,288,000 GBP excluding VAT. Bids exceeding this limit will be rejected. There is potential to extend the contract for up to two additional years at a potential value of £3,715,200 GBP per year including VAT, £3,096,000 GBP per year excluding VAT. All pricing submissions must be in regard to this 'core' value, and not inclusive of any extension costs or aspirational intent costs, i.e. Please only submit a cost schedule up to the maximum core value of £11,145,600 GBP including VAT, £9,288,000 GBP excluding VAT. The maximum budget ‘core’ value excludes the potential two year extension and aspirational intent as described in section 14.4 of Annex A - Service Specification. Please note, there is no commitment by the Authority at this stage to include any aspirational intent measures. Taking the total of this aspirational intent into account, as well as the possibility that a contract extension may be offered for an additional two years, the potential ceiling value is £28,029,455 GBP including VAT, £23,357,879 GBP excluding VAT There is also a potential that the contract price will be subject to discretionary inflationary uplifts. Cancer is a leading cause of mortality, but it is also a leading cause of avoidable mortality in England and Wales. Cancer mortality rates in the UK are much higher than in other, comparable countries and vary greatly between different areas of the country. As part of the effort to improve treatment and outcomes and reduce variation, the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN) was established and funded by NHS England and the Welsh Government in 2022. The aim was to develop a national centre of expertise which would host the NHS national cancer audits. The audits provide regular and timely evidence to NHS services about where and how patterns of care vary between patients and between hospitals and to support local quality improvement. The Centre hosts ten audits, some of which are very well established and others which have been added to the portfolio since NATCAN was established. The audits are for primary breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer, bowel cancer, kidney cancer, lung cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, oesophago-gastric cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer. The funders have decided to recommission the national centre following the initial contract for an additional contract period. The anticipated continued benefits of a national centre for cancer audit delivery include: •Consistency and standardisation across audits •Flexibility to develop and share specialised resources between audit topics (such as statisticians and data analysts, and patient and public involvement expertise) •Enhanced subcontracting power across topics (such as for data visualisation platforms) •Consistency and alignment of communications strategies Further details of the current work can be found at www.natcan.org.uk. The role of national clinical audit is to stimulate healthcare quality improvement through the provision of high-quality information on the organisation, delivery and outcomes of healthcare, together with tools and support to enable healthcare providers and other audiences to make best use of this information. Outcomes are benchmarked against available national guidance and standards e.g. quality standards from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and those from other established professional and patient sources. Successful national audits are those where the individuals who are engaging with and using the audit results are also in a position to improve the system, and where there is a shared understanding of what good care looks like. National clinical audits are expected to: a.Develop a robust, high-quality audit designed around key quality metrics likely to best support local and national healthcare quality improvement b.Detect, describe and help reduce unwarranted clinical variation by systematically benchmarking performance, identifying outliers, and supporting services to understand variation in outcomes, processes and experience c.Achieve, articulate and maintain close alignment with relevant NICE national guidance and quality standards throughout the audit, as appropriate d.Enable healthcare quality improvement through the provision of timely, high-quality data that compares providers of healthcare, and comprises an integrated mixture of named Trust or Health Board, regional Cancer Alliance, Integrated Care System (ICS), commissioner, multidisciplinary team (MDT), possibly consultant or clinical team level and other levels of reporting e.Engage patients, carers and the public in a meaningful way, achieving a strong patient voice which informs and contributes to the design, functioning, outputs and direction of the audit f.Consider the value and feasibility of linking data at an individual patient level to other relevant national datasets either from the outset or in the future, and plan for these linkages from the inception of the contract g.Ensure robust methodological and statistical input at all stages of the audit h.Identify from the outset the full range of audiences for the reports and other audit outputs, and plan and tailor them accordingly i.Provide audit results in a timely, accessible and meaningful manner to support healthcare quality improvement, minimising the reporting time lag and providing continual access to data at relevant reporting levels j.Utilise strong and effective project and programme management to deliver audit outputs on time and within budget k.Develop and maintain strong engagement with local clinicians, networks, commissioners, patients and their families and carers, and charity and community support groups to drive improvements in services At the time of writing the specification, requirements include the following (please also refer to the potential future aspirational intent section listed in section 14.4 of Annex A – Service Specification): 1.Delivery of the ten audits already underway with a focus on treatment variation. The funder and commissioner may decide to stand down current topics and add different topics and / or vary the number of reporting metrics to accommodate the inclusion of different or additional/revised topics. 2.Conduct a review of all reported NATCAN metrics in order to identify clearly the following: •The clinical and operational relevance of each metric, with a focus on the audits’ core objectives and on enhancing system impact and identifying areas of unwarranted treatment variation (this includes identifying areas of new unwarranted variation) •How to avoid duplication with metrics reported by NHSE/DHSC and other bodies, cancer waiting times and cancer patient survey data* •The optimal source of data for each metric •The optimal frequency of publication •How to reduce and minimise the reporting time lag for each metric •For England: How to engage with and link to relevant actions identified in the National Cancer Plan for England 3.Periodically monitor longitudinal data trajectories to determine whether a metric remains relevant or should be stood down. 4.Regularly review the source of data for each metric, striking a clinically and operationally relevant balance between publishing timely data, and data that is more complete and validated. 5.Work collaboratively with NHS organisations and teams, e.g. cancer alliances, DHSC/NHSE teams, the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS), Welsh Government, and health boards. This will include consulting on metric selection, data sources and frequency of publication of metric results as above. 6.Implement technical solutions to support system leaders and local healthcare providers to be able to identify and visualise outputs from the various NATCAN audits in one display, thereby enabling understanding of themes and priority issues across the NATCAN audits. 7.Maximise consistency and harmonisation across the NATCAN portfolio of topics, e.g. consistency of output focus, remit and formats, including the scopes, dashboards and state of the nation reports to make them easier for users to use and cross-refer. 8.Revisit the Scoping Document for each audit, updating to ensure relevance to new standards and guidance and that they add maximum value, and use these documents to proactively monitor that each audit remains focused on its core objectives. *Unless the funders and commissioner explicitly request and sign off any such metrics. Further details of the existing audit can be found at: https://www.natcan.org.uk/

The contract will initially be delivered for Northern Ireland, Wales, England, Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey - both NHS and Independent sector hospitals, for a period of 5 years, at a maximum total budget of up to £14,580,000 GBP including VAT, £12,150,000 GBP excluding VAT. Bids exceeding this limit will be rejected. There is potential to extend the contract for up to two additional years at a potential value of £2,916,000 GBP per year including VAT, £2,430,000 GBP per year excluding VAT. These extension values are based on no aspirational intent being invoked and are therefore subject to increase proportionally to the contract value if aspiration intent is invoked. All pricing submissions must be in regard to this 'core' value, and not inclusive of any extension costs or aspirational intent costs, i.e. Please only submit a cost schedule up to the maximum core value of £14,580,000 GBP including VAT, £12,150,000 GBP excluding VAT. The maximum budget ‘core’ value excludes the potential two year extension and aspirational intent as described in section C of Annex A – Service Specification Please note, there is no commitment by the Authority at this stage to include any aspirational intent measures. Taking the total of this aspirational intent into account, as well as the possibility that a contract extension may be offered for an additional two years, the potential ceiling value is £44,027,892 GBP including VAT, £36,689,910 GBP excluding VAT There is also a potential that the contract price will be subject to discretionary inflationary uplifts. About the National Joint Registry The National Joint Registry (NJR) is the largest orthopaedic joint replacement registry in the world. It collects, analyses and reports information on joint replacement procedures to improve patient safety, support clinical decision-making, monitor implant performance and improve the quality of care across the UK and Crown Dependencies. Joint replacement surgery is one of the most successful interventions in modern healthcare, restoring mobility and reducing pain for hundreds of thousands of patients. The NJR plays a critical role in monitoring the long-term performance of joint replacement implants and surgical techniques, providing robust evidence to clinicians, healthcare organisations, regulators, patients and the orthopaedic device industry. The NJR was established in April 2002 by the Department of Health and the Welsh Government following recommendations arising from the National Audit Office investigation into the failure of the 3M Capital Hip System. Operational responsibility for the Registry transferred to the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) on 1 April 2008. The Registry has progressively expanded its scope, collecting: •hip and knee replacement data since April 2003; •ankle replacement data since April 2010; and •shoulder and elbow replacement data since April 2012. The geographical coverage of the Registry has also expanded to include: •Northern Ireland (2013); •the Isle of Man (2015); and •Guernsey (2019). •Jersey (2025) Today, the NJR contains data relating to millions of joint replacement procedures and continues to expand annually. It is recognised internationally as a leading clinical registry and provides an essential evidence base for improving outcomes, supporting research, informing procurement decisions and identifying patient safety concerns at the earliest opportunity. The NJR is funded primarily through an annual subscription model based on eligible joint replacement procedures undertaken by NHS organisations and independent healthcare providers across participating nations. Since 2014, the orthopaedic device industry has also contributed through an annual subscription supporting supplier feedback services and related reporting. Income is managed by HQIP through a dedicated NJR fund under the governance of the NJR Board. The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) is procuring a Supplier to deliver data collection, management and technology and statistical analysis and reporting. The successful Supplier will be responsible for the secure operation, maintenance and continuous development of the NJR's data management technology services and statistical analysis supporting one of the world's largest orthopaedic registries and enabling the delivery of high-quality information to patients, clinicians, healthcare providers, commissioners, regulators, researchers and the orthopaedic industry. The procurement comprises: •Core Services •NJR data collection, data management and technology solutions; statistical analysis and reporting services. HQIP is seeking a strategic delivery partner that can demonstrate: •proven expertise in delivering secure, resilient and scalable data services; •a collaborative and solution-focused approach to partnership working; •innovation and a commitment to continuous service improvement; •responsiveness, flexibility and excellent customer service; •strong governance, information security and regulatory compliance; •the ability to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, data quality and user experience; and •effective communication and stakeholder engagement. The successful Supplier will be expected to work collaboratively with HQIP to ensure seamless delivery of the Registry, maintaining continuity of service whilst supporting future innovation and development. Over the lifetime of the Contract, the Authority's ambitions include: •improving the quality, completeness and timeliness of data collection, validation and submission processes; •enhancing the resilience, scalability, performance and security of the Registry's technology platform; •increasing interoperability with NHS systems, national datasets and other relevant health and care services through open standards and modern APIs; •improving user experience through intuitive digital services, enhanced reporting capabilities and greater self-service functionality for stakeholders; •supporting more timely reporting, surveillance, analytics and insight generation to improve patient safety, clinical outcomes and service performance; •enabling the responsible adoption of automation, advanced analytics and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence where appropriate and compliant with legal, ethical and information governance requirements; •strengthening cyber resilience, business continuity and operational sustainability; •supporting collaborative working across healthcare providers, patients, regulators, researchers, industry and other registries; •maintaining flexibility to adapt to future changes in clinical practice, regulatory requirements and national health policy; and •ensuring the Registry remains a leading international example of excellence in clinical registry management and medical device surveillance. The scope of services includes: •Collection, processing and management of registry data through direct data entry, system interfaces and other approved data submission mechanisms; •Secure hosting, storage and management of NJR data and associated information assets; •Data validation, cleansing, quality assurance and reconciliation processes to maximise data accuracy, completeness and credibility; •Data linkage, comparison and reconciliation with relevant national and international datasets; •Development, operation and enhancement of continuous monitoring and surveillance systems, including implant and patient outcome monitoring; •Statistical analysis and reporting services, including: ooutlier detection and monitoring; odevelopment and maintenance of statistical methodologies; oanalysis supporting patient safety, clinical effectiveness and service improvement; oproduction of datasets and content for the NJR Annual Report; and odelivery of ad hoc analyses and data requests as required; •Production, publication and dissemination of reports, dashboards, datasets and stakeholder information services for patients, clinicians, healthcare providers, researchers, regulators and industry partners; •Preparation and provision of research-ready datasets and support for approved research activity; •Management of data access, disclosure and information governance processes, including patient data requests, research applications and regulatory requirements; •Provision of stakeholder support services, including helpdesk functions, user support, training, communications and maintenance of stakeholder contact databases; •Hosting, maintenance, development and operation of NJR stakeholder-facing digital services, including web-based reporting and information services; and •Provision of expert advice and support on registry development, data management, analytics, clinical surveillance and emerging best practice within the UK and internationally. Further details of the existing programme can be found at: https://www.njrcentre.org.uk/