Official UK procurement notice
Diagnostic testing for NHS Online
Authority: NHS England (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionThis Request for Information (RFI) seeks to understand the feasibility of enabling end to end diagnostic testing pathways to support NHS Online’s virtual elective care model. The scope of this RFI is limited to exploring provider capability, capacity, digital maturity and interoperability required to support the electronic ordering of diagnostic tests, appointment booking, and digital return of results across England.
This market engagement is pre procurement in nature and is intended to inform the development of NHS Online’s future commercial and sourcing strategy for diagnostic access. It does not seek to commission diagnostic services, determine commercial or contractual models, or identify suppliers for any future procurement. Responses will be used solely to improve NHS Online’s understanding of the current market and potential delivery models that could support digitally enabled diagnostic access at scale.
CPV: Diagnostic supplies · Gastroenterologist services · Gynaecological hospital services · Health services · Medical analysis services · Medical imaging services · Medical practice and related services · Ophthalmologist services · Pathology services · Services provided by medical laboratories · Urologist services
How this framework works
From the published notice- Framework period
- 4 yrs from 1 Dec 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).
- “Diagnostic testing for NHS Online” is a framework: the contest is a place on its panel, not a single contract.
Pipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How NHS England buys Hospital and related services (CPV 8511), and who usually turns up
NHS England’s published record next to the market for the same work. Compared with other frameworks and DPS only. Whole-market view: Hospital and related services (CPV 8511) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
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 Greater London (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
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.
Half of these awards have an award date within 88 days of the bid deadline.
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.
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.
1 bid20% / 0%
2–320% / 0%
4–620% / 55%
7+40% / 45%
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.
On a framework or DPS, prices are agreed when work is called off.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Not comparable on a framework or DPS: the price is set later, on each call-off.
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.
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 #1CPV 8512Published estimate£160k
This lot is listed as CPV 8512. The table above uses the notice category.
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 101 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid5%
2–310%
4–618%
7+67%
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.
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.
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.
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- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Services
- Notice status
- Planned procurement
- 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
- 29 Apr 2026, 13:01 BST
- Last source update
- 29 Apr 2026, 13:01 BST
- Authority reference
C443549- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-039167- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-068df0Find a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
29 Apr 2026 → 1 Dec 2026 · 4 dates- Planning notice published179 days ago29 Apr 2026, 13:01 BST
- Market engagement155 days ago22 May 2026, 23:59 BST
This Request for Information (RFI) seeks to understand the feasibility of enabling end to end diagnostic testing pathways to support NHS Online’s virtual elective care model. The scope of this RFI is limited to exploring provider capability, capacity, digital maturity and interoperability required to support the electronic ordering of diagnostic tests, appointment booking, and digital return of results across England.
This market engagement is pre procurement in nature and is intended to inform the development of NHS Online’s future commercial and sourcing strategy for diagnostic access. It does not seek to commission diagnostic services, determine commercial or contractual models, or identify suppliers for any future procurement. Responses will be used solely to improve NHS Online’s understanding of the current market and potential delivery models that could support digitally enabled diagnostic access at scale.
Please note: all communication relating to this market engagement will be issued on the following Atamis portal:
suppliersupport.atamis.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/46… ↗
Should you wish to contract with NHS England, you will also be required to register on the Central Digital Platform if not already done so:
- Tender notice expected54 days ago31 Aug 2026, 23:59 BST
- Today25 Oct 2026
- Contract startsin 37 days1 Dec 2026
Notice history
1 event · 1 release on Find a Tender- Preliminary market engagement notice published29 Apr 2026, 13:01 BSTUK2
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
Official documents & specifications (1)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender