Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Finance and Procurement Business Unit, Wards 17 and 18, Trafford Hospital

Trafford

M41 5SL

UK

Contact person: Mrs Sue Carson

Telephone: +44 1612915171

E-mail: sue.carson@mft.nhs.uk

Fax: +44 1612915139

NUTS: UKD3

Internet address(es)

Main address: www.mft.nhs.uk

Address of the buyer profile: www.mft.nhs.uk

II.1.1) Title

II.1.2) Main CPV code

33000000

II.1.3) Type of contract

Supplies

II.1.4) Short description

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (the ‘Authority’) has awarded a contract to Unispace Global Ltd for the supply of personal protective equipment to safeguard the health and lives of the care professionals treating patients with Covid-19.

II.1.6) Information about lots

This contract is divided into lots: No

II.1.7) Total value of the procurement

Value excluding VAT: 4 950 000.00  GBP

IV.1.1) Type of procedure

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition

Justification for selected award procedure:

Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the Directive

Explanation

Award of a contract without prior publication of a call for competition in the Official Journal of the European Union in the cases listed below:

• extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the directive.

Explanation:

1) The Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is a serious infectious respiratory disease and its consequences pose a risk to life. The Covid-19 outbreak is a Public Health Emergency of International Concerns as declared by the World Health Organisation on 30 January 2020. The WHO Director General characterised Covid-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020, by this stage Europe was the centre of the pandemic.

2) The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical in safeguarding the health and lives of the care professionals treating patients with Covid-19. Delays in procuring the PPE poses a risk to life of those on the front line and the likelihood of significantly increased death toll.

3) In March the NHS experienced severe shortages of PPE, modelling based the trajectory of other European countries forecast the need for significant and extremely rapid increase in the UK PPE capacity. Similar shortfalls in PPE stocks were identified globally. There was immense demand for PPE, requiring the UK government to actively seek and create new supply chains rapidly to meet that demand. In these circumstances, a procurement following the usual timescales under the PCR 2015, including accelerated options, was impossible. PPE manufacturers and supply chains were under immediate and unprecedented global pressure to provide products. A delay in engaging with the market by running a usual procurement process ran the risk of failing to acquire the necessary stock of PPE equipment and presenting a significant risk to life.

4) Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT)is satisfied the tests permitting use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication (Regulation 32(2)(c)) were met:

A. As far as is strictly necessary:

PPE was identified as strictly necessary to meet anticipated demand on the NHS during the first wave of cases in the UK.

B. There are genuine reasons for extreme urgency:

MFT are responding to Covid-19 immediately because of public health risks presenting a genuine emergency.

IV.1.8) Information about Government Procurement Agreement (GPA)

The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: No

Unispace Global Ltd

London

E1W 1JP

UK

NUTS: UKD3

The contractor is an SME: No

VI.4.1) Review body