Official UK procurement notice
WPL06211 - Imaging Infrastructure Support Service
Authority: University Hospital Southampton (Education)·On behalf of: WESSEX NHS PROCUREMENT LIMITED
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionOverview of Requirement
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) is initiating the re-procurement process for its Imaging Infrastructure Support Service (IISS).
As a large, specialised acute teaching trust, UHS manages a diverse and complex imaging estate including MRI, CT, X-Ray, Ultrasound, Echo, Angiography, and Fluoroscopy supporting 24/7 clinical pathways. The current contract, which provides a comprehensive managed service, is approaching expiry.
Purpose of the Engagement
This Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) is a critical step in developing the Trust's Business Case. The objectives for the engagement are to:
- Gather insight on current capabilities, innovations, and delivery models.
- Test and shape the Trust's emerging requirements and procurement strategy.
- Understand supplier perspectives on risk, contract structure, and performance expectations.
- Encourage broad and competitive participation in the forthcoming procurement.
Scope and Model Neutrality
The Trust is seeking information on a broad range of high-level service models. At this stage, UHS has not yet committed to a specific commercial structure. The engagement aims to understand the pros and cons of:
- Fully managed equipment service models.
- Hybrid or shared-responsibility models.
- Strategic partnerships involving mixed-vendor and mixed-age estates.
- Other models used globally.
Supply and Delivery Expectations
This notice is for pre-procurement consultation only. The Trust invites input from Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), Managed Service Providers (MSPs), and technical advisors. The engagement will involve a period of active discovery, including Requests for Information (RFIs) and 1-to-1 sessions.
Out of Scope
To maintain the integrity of the future formal procurement, the following are strictly out of scope for this PME:
- Detailed pricing or firm cost benchmarks.
- Final contract terms or specific risk transfer mechanisms.
- Supplier-specific solution designs or evaluation/scoring criteria.
CPV: Business and management consultancy and related services · Construction management services · Medical imaging services · Repair and maintenance services of medical equipment
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedPipeline intelligence · planning stage: how this market runs before the tender is published
How University Hospital Southampton buys Repair and maintenance services of medical and surgical equipment (CPV 5042), and who usually turns up
University Hospital Southampton’s own published record, next to the published market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are kept out: they attract a different number of bids. Whole-market view: Repair and maintenance services of medical and surgical equipment (CPV 5042) →
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.
Here, local means registered in South East England (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners are registered in South East England.
i
How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the deadline to the first award notice, on competitions that published both dates.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards were announced within 36 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 bid11%
2–347%
4–639%
7+3%
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.
Below estimate25%
Within ±2%75%
Above estimate0%
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 5042Published estimate£225m
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 148 past lots.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid14%
2–328%
4–630%
7+29%
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
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 8 May 2026, 12:57 BST
- Last source update
- 8 May 2026, 13:43 BST
- Authority reference
WPL06211- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-042522- Latest notice
- Preliminary market engagement notice (UK2)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-06949cFind a Tender
How it was run
Official notice- Submission deadline
- —
Timeline
8 May 2026 → 1 Oct 2027 · 4 dates- Planning notice published165 days ago8 May 2026, 12:57 BST
- Market engagement137 days ago5 Jun 2026, 23:59 BST
Overview of the Process
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS) is conducting this Preliminary Market Engagement (PME) to inform the Business Case for its Imaging Infrastructure Support Service (IISS). The process follows a structured timeline to ensure the Trust gathers robust intelligence while maintaining a level playing field.
Step 1: Expression of Interest (EOI)
Providers must register their interest via the following MS Form: forms.cloud.microsoft/e/Y2uDXUYrJF ↗
by Thursday, 21st May 2026.
Step 2: Request for Information (RFI) Questionnaire
After registration, providers will be emailed a structured RFI questionnaire (please note, this will be sent at the earliest opportunity, but that may not be immediately after the Expression of Interest form was submitted). This RFI document seeks high-level, non-binding information regarding service models, clinical resilience, technology architecture, and commercial appetites. Deadline for RFI Submission: Mid-day Thursday, 28th May 2026.
Step 3: 1-to-1 Discovery Sessions
The Trust has allocated five (5) slots for 1-to-1 one hour discovery sessions to be held via Microsoft Teams during the week commencing 1st June 2026.
Selection Criteria: Due to limited capacity, these slots will be offered to the five providers whose RFI responses most clearly demonstrate significant experience in providing imaging infrastructure support to large-scale, complex acute or teaching hospitals. This approach ensures the Trust captures the most relevant market insights to inform the Business Case options appraisal and deliverability assessment.
Providers being invited to take part in the 1-to-1 one hour discovery sessions will be contacted to schedule the sessions.
Step 4: Transparency and Next Steps
Participation in this PME is not a prerequisite for any future tender. All information will be treated as commercially confidential, and findings will be synthesised into the Business Case to reduce delivery and financial risk. There is no commitment to undertake a subsequent procurement.
- Today20 Oct 2026
- Tender notice expectedin 38 days27 Nov 2026, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 345 days1 Oct 2027, 00:00 BST
Notice history
4 events · 2 releases on Find a Tender · since 8 May 2026- Pipeline notice published8 May 2026, 12:57 BSTUK1
- Preliminary market engagement notice published8 May 2026, 13:43 BSTUK2
- Published value published: £225,100,0008 May 2026, 13:43 BST
- Buyer details updated8 May 2026, 13:43 BST
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
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- WESSEX NHS PROCUREMENT LIMITEDProcess contact pointProcuring entityWessex NHS Procurement Limited provides procurement services for a number of NHS organisations
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
- Pipeline notice Pipeline notice on Find a Tender