Find a TenderPlanned procurement
Published 6 May 2026, 12:18 BST

Official UK procurement notice

Block-booked Pathway 3 End of Life Beds Exeter

Authority: NHS Devon Integrated Care Board (Central government)

Services
Planned pipeline valueValue not publishedpipeline notice, not a live tender
Tender notice expected 1 Aug 2026from the planned procurement notice

What is being bought

Published requirement description

NHS Devon is assessing options in relation to a likely procurement for block-booked Pathway 3 beds, primarily for End of Life care and based in Exeter.

CPV: Residential nursing care services

The lotProcurement structure

single lot · no lot value published
Lot #1NHS Devon is exploring options in relation to the procurement approach for a number of…Planned

NHS Devon is exploring options in relation to the procurement approach for a number of block-booked beds for end of life care in Exeter, supporting expediting discharges from Royal Devon and Exeter hospital.

The intention is to seek a single provider who:

  • Is registered to provide nursing care (i.e. a nursing home/homes) and/ or has agreed to the ICB nursing and DCC core contract
  • Has a minimum CQC rating of 'good' overall
  • Has a registered nurse on site 24 hours a day
  • Can provide a block of a minimum of seven beds for a six-month period, to commence as soon as possible on conclusion of the procurement
  • Is accepting of the fee rate within the Devon County Council's older person's fee model
  • Is able to provide compassionate end of life care, or, by commissioner agreement, care for other patients requiring discharge under the Pathway 3 arrangements (for example where there are voids and no suitable EoL cases)

The provider must:

  • Provide the beds in Exeter
  • Have appropriate equipment in place to safely care for the proposed cohort
  • Have rooms that are accessible by both public and private transport
  • Be accepting of the 'Trusted Assessor' model - accept the assessment of the hospital team

The expectation would be for less than 5% voids (with a possible sliding scale of payment based on the length of time any beds were empty) and for transfers to take place within 24 hours of a referral being received if the patient is suitable.

This is initially likely to be a short (6 month) contract to test the impact. Options to split provision across 2 providers will be considered following responses to this PIN if it appears this will offer the best outcomes. Additional information: This is a Prior Information Notice intended to alert the market to the potential opportunity and establish the level of interested in the services as outlined.

The final procurement approach will then be established based on the level of interest and further information shared at this stage as appropriate.

The ICB asks that any provider interested in this contracting opportunity confirm this interest by Midday on Friday 22nd March 2026 at the latest.

Please confirm interest by email to [email protected] quoting the reference at the start of this notice - QJK_P3 EOL Exeter_May 26.

In this initial response please confirm the organisation would be able to meet the initial requirements set out above and the number and location of beds potentially available in Exeter.

Delivery: South West · This service is intended to support the expedited discharge of end of life patients from Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital. As such the provider will need to provide the beds in Exeter, have appropriate equipment in place to safely care for the proposed cohort and have rooms that are accessible by both public and private transport. The preference is to procure one supplier for a minimum of seven beds but it may be possible to consider breaking this up to two separate contracts if there is strong reason to do so.

Who is likely to bid for this lot ↓

Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published

How NHS Devon Integrated Care Board buys Miscellaneous health services (CPV 8514), and who usually turns up

NHS Devon Integrated Care Board’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Miscellaneous health services (CPV 8514) →

1

How the contest usually goes

Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.

Question for the bid
This buyerNHS Devon Integrated Care Board · division 85
The marketMiscellaneous health services (CPV 8514) · South West England
What to do with it
How often do SMEs win?
i

How often small and medium firms win.

Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.

The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 45 of 69 known-size awards · market: CPV 8514 · South West England, n=150
65%51%

Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.

How often do local suppliers win?
i

How often local firms win similar work.

Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.

Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in South West England.

A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: 101 of 158 known-location awards · market: CPV 8514 · South West England, n=218
64%62%

Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered in the region where that award was delivered.

How long to a decision?
i

How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.

Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.

Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: no decision dates published · market: CPV 8514 · South West England, n=6
—41 days

Half of these awards have an award date within 41 days of the bid deadline.

How often single-bid or direct?
i

How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.

Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.

Both shares are minimums: some awards have no bid count.

Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.

Last 36 months.

Buyer: at least 99 of 123 procurements with awards had no recorded rival · market: CPV 8514 · South West England, n=186
80%85%

Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.

How many bids did past lots attract?

i

How many bids past lots received.

Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.

Past bids do not predict this tender.

Last 36 months.

This buyer14 lots with bid counts · broad CPV 85
7% had one bid
The market15 lots with bid counts · CPV 8514 · South West England
13% had one bid
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
1 bid7% / 13%
Buyer: 1 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 2 of 15 lots with published bid counts.
2–350% / 40%
Buyer: 7 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 6 of 15 lots with published bid counts.
4–636% / 20%
Buyer: 5 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 3 of 15 lots with published bid counts.
7+7% / 27%
Buyer: 1 of 14 lots with published bid counts. Market: 4 of 15 lots with published bid counts.

How did awards compare with estimates?

i

Where winning prices landed against estimates.

Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.

Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.

Last 36 months.

This buyer10 lots with estimate and award · broad CPV 85
20% below estimate
The market9 lots with estimate and award · CPV 8514 · South West England
44% below estimate
Buyer / market · select a colour for counts
Below estimate20% / 44%
Buyer: 2 of 10 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 4 of 9 lots with an estimate and award.
Within ±2%70% / 56%
Buyer: 7 of 10 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 5 of 9 lots with an estimate and award.
Above estimate10% / 0%
Buyer: 1 of 10 lots with an estimate and award. Market: 0 of 9 lots with an estimate and award.
2

Assess each lot
i

What past awards tell you about each lot.

See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.

No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.

Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list

Lot #1NHS Devon is exploring options in relation to the procurement approach for a number of…CPV 8514Estimate not published
Expected competition
i

How many bids this lot may attract.

The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.

Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative. The bar shows 15 past lots.

A forecast, not a list of bidders.

—No model forecast yet13% chance of a single bid
Past bids on 15 similar lots
1 bid13%
2 of 15 similar past lots received 1 bid (13%).
2–340%
6 of 15 similar past lots received 2–3 (40%).
4–620%
3 of 15 similar past lots received 4–6 (20%).
7+27%
4 of 15 similar past lots received 7+ (27%).
Comparable past lots usually drew 3 bids.
Commercial price forecast
i

Where the award price may land.

The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.

No comparable awards for this lot yet.

A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.

—Estimate not published
The buyer published no estimate for this lot, so there is nothing to forecast against. A price prediction here would be a number about a number we do not have.

Who has supplied this buyer on similar work?
i

Who has done similar work for this buyer.

Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.

A past supplier may not bid again.

No earlier contract of this buyer matches this lot on the published record.

Who could compete for this lot?
i

Who could compete for this lot?

Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.

None is confirmed as a bidder.

Candidate suppliers for this notice have not been worked out yet, so this is not a verdict that nobody fits.

About this data
  • Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
  • Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
  • Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
  • Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.

Procedure terms & legal framework

From the official record · publisher note attached
Legal basis
CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
Procurement category
Services
Notice status
Planned procurement
Procurement threshold
Unspecified in notice
Regulatory regime
Standard
Commercial structure
Stand-alone contract (no framework)
Competition type
Competitive procedure
GPA / WTO covered
Unspecified in notice
Recurring procurement
Unspecified in notice
First published
6 May 2026, 12:18 BST
Last source update
7 May 2026, 08:32 BST
Authority reference
QJK_P3 EOL Exeter_May 26
FTS notice number
2026/S 000-041676
Classification (CPV)
Residential nursing care services
Delivery area
South West (UKK43)
Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-069250 Find a Tender

Publisher note: As above, please ensure any expressions of interest in this opportunity are submitted by email to [email protected] quoting the reference QJK_P3 EOL Exeter_May 26. In this initial response please confirm the organisation would be able to meet the initial requirements set out above and the number and location of beds potentially available in Exeter.

How it was run

Official notice
Submission deadline
—

Timeline

7 May 2026 → 1 Aug 2026 · 2 dates
  1. Notice published170 days ago
    7 May 2026, 08:32 BST
  2. Tender notice expected85 days ago
    1 Aug 2026, 00:00 BST

Notice history

2 releases on Find a Tender
Published amendments (1 · 0 deadline changes)
WhenWhatBeforeAfterShift
—TextAdditional Information · II.2.14The original deadline for expressions of interest was incorrectly given as 22nd March 2026Any expressions of interest in this opportunity should be sent by email to the ICB no later than 22nd May 2026

Please submit expressions of interest for this opportunity to [email protected] no later than midday on 22nd May 2026

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

NHS DEVON INTEGRATED CARE BOARD

Contracting authorityCentral GovernmentBody governed by public lawHealth GB-NHS: QJK Aperture House, Pynes Hill, Rydon Lane,, Exeter, South West, EX25AZContact email

Official documents & specifications

Official links; attachments are not copied

No document links were published on the notice.