SC23191 Coroner Removals and Transfer Service

A Tender Notice
by KENT COUNTY COUNCIL

Source
Find a Tender
Type
Contract (Services)
Duration
4 year
Value
£4M
Sector
HEALTH
Published
25 Jun 2024
Delivery
01 Jan 2025 to 31 Dec 2028
Deadline
26 Jul 2024 12:00

Concepts

Location

Maidstone

Geochart for 2 buyers and 0 suppliers

2 buyers

Description

Coroners are independent judicial officers, appointed by the local authority within the coroner area. Local authorities have a legal obligation to support the work of Coroner’s, to fund all the costs of the service and to provide the necessary resources to enable them to carry out their statutory obligations under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. This includes the provision of appropriate contractual arrangements for the removal of the deceased. For the four Kent coroner areas of Mid Kent & Medway, North-West Kent, North-East Kent and Central & South-East Kent, KCC is the lead authority for the administrative areas of Kent and Medway. There are two service requirements to be procured under this process: Lot 1: Coroner Removals Service and Lot 2: Coroner Transfers Service. Please see the sections below for a description of these services. Selection Questionnaire (SQ) At this stage of the project, The Council have issued a Selection Questionnaire, to identify suitably qualified suppliers to provide a Coroners Removal and/or Coroners Transfer Service. To register your interest in this opportunity, please go to www.kentbusinessportal.org.uk. Prospective suppliers must complete the Selection Questionnaire and submit via the Kent Business Portal to be considered for this opportunity. Further information can be found in the Selection Questionnaire documents. Bidder Briefing

Lot Division

1 Coroners Removals Service
  • Value: £4M

Coroners Removals (Lot 1) The coroner may decide that a suitable practitioner (normally a pathologist) is required to examine the deceased and carry out a post-mortem examination to discover the cause of death. In this scenario, the deceased needs to be transported from where it is lying to a designated mortuary for further enquiries to be made (to hold a post-mortem if required). The movement of the deceased to the mortuary constitutes a “Coroners Removal”. In the cases where a post-mortem has been deemed necessary, the deceased needs to be transferred from the location of death to one of the designated post-mortem facilities below; QEQM Hospital, Margate William Harvey Hospital, Ashford Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham Tunbridge Wells Hospital, Pembury Darenth Valley Hospital, Dartford Where an organisation is awarded a contract area, they are responsible for providing this service throughout the specified area. They must deliver this service 24/7, 365 days a year, and in accordance with the service requirements as detailed within the specification.
2 Coroners Transfers Service
  • Value: £4M

Coroners Transfer In some cases, it is necessary to transfer the deceased from a designated mortuary to another designated mortuary. These transfers can occur locally as a transfer between mortuaries within Kent and Medway but can occur outside of Kent. This is due to the specific expertise that different mortuaries possess (E.g. London mortuary specialises in child deaths, Brighton mortuary specialises in infectious cases etc.) Cases like these where the deceased is transferred between mortuaries are more commonly known as a “Coroners Transfer”. Where an organisation is awarded a contract area, they are responsible for providing this service throughout the specified area. They must deliver this service 24/7, 365 days a year, and in accordance with the service requirements as detailed within the specification.

Renewal Options

The initial terms for this contract is 3 years with an optional extension period of up to 24 months. Contract extension will be subject to supplier performance etc throughout the initial term. Please refer to the tender documents (Terms and Conditions) for further information.

CPV Codes

  • 98000000 - Other community, social and personal services
  • 98370000 - Funeral and related services

Indicators

  • Restrictions apply to the lot award allocation.
  • Bids should cover one or more lots.
  • Bids should cover the whole contract.
  • This is a recurring contract.
  • Renewals are available.
  • Award on basis of price and quality.

Other Information

The Council is offering a Bidder Briefing Session, to be held virtually via Microsoft Teams on Monday 1st July 2024 at 10am. The briefing will provide The purpose of this session is to explain the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) process, and support prospective suppliers to use our e-tendering system, the Kent Business Portal. If you wish to join the briefing, please register at the following address: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/1f2ee65b-43c6-42dd-a379-148966892c2c@32... If you are unable to attend this session, a recording will be made available to all prospective tenderers following the session. Questions can also be raised via the Kent Business Portal. If you require any additional information regarding this opportunity, please do not hesitate to contact Kent County Council through the messaging function on the Kent Business Portal. Optional Requirement As a category 1 responder under the Civil Contingencies Act, Kent County Council has a duty to plan and prepare for emergencies. In the event of a Mass Fatality event, the Council may require contracted Coroners Removals and Transfer suppliers to provide additional services in order to transport the deceased, to meet the urgent demands of the event.This may involve additional mortuary transfers as required, and/or transportation of the deceased from a temporary mortuary site to an NHS mortuary. There is no guarantee that this provision will be used. Further information will be provided at the Invitation to Tender stage. Please note that the published contract value includes the potential 5 year total duration for both the Coroners Removals and Transfer Service contracts, based on historic volumes and current rates.

Reference

Domains