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Awarded· 1 Nov 2025

Specialist Medicines Service

NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board · Ipswich, East

NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board has awarded Specialist Medicines Service. It is a contract for other health and social care in Ipswich.

Source: Find a Tender, published 12 Jan 2026. Details are refreshed every 30 minutes.

Key dates

  1. 2025

    Contract awarded

  2. 2025

    Award notice published

    Award Notice · 15:19

    View notice
  3. 2026

    Tender notice updated

    Tender Notice · 09:46

    View notice
01

About this tender

In brief

NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board has awarded Specialist Medicines Service. It is a contract for other health and social care in Ipswich. It was awarded on 1 November 2025. The contract value is £14,444. It is split across 3 lots.

It is run as an award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition. Find a Tender published it on 12 January 2026. The notice number is 002115-2026. The OCDS ID is ocds-h6vhtk-05da15.

Summary of the contracting process

The Specialist Medicines Service contract, awarded by the NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, focuses on supporting the supply of essential medication for Palliative and End of Life Care and the treatment of Clostridioides difficile within the health services category. This contract is significant for the regions of Suffolk and North East Essex, operating from 1st November 2025 to 31st March 2026.

It has been awarded under the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023, using the direct award process outlined in these regulations. This procurement, classified as a 'services' category under CPV 85100000, involves key operational dates including a contract award date of 4th November 2025.

It includes the commitment to maintaining stocks of specified medications by pharmacies and ensuring accessibility during all normal operating hours, alongside offering guidance to users and professionals. This tender provides substantial opportunities for SMEs in the pharmaceutical sector.

The notice in full

The service aims to support the responsive and effective supply of essential medication for Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) and the treatment of Clostridioides difficile (also known as Clostridium difficile, C. difficile or C. diff). This is a type of bacteria that can cause diarrhoea. The demand for palliative care treatments and the relevant antibiotics, vancomycin or fidaxomicin, may be urgent and/or unpredictable.

The service will operate during all normal opening hours for the community pharmacy and/or any locally commissioned extended hours e.g., Public/Bank holiday rota. The pharmacy contractor(s) (provider) will stock minimum stock levels of a locally agreed list of drugs and will make a commitment to ensure those users of this service have prompt access to these medicines.

The pharmacy will provide information and advice to the user, carer and clinician as required. Pharmacy teams should refer to the joint Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)/Marie Curie UK Quality Improvement (Daffodil) Standards for support in continual improvement of their palliative and end of life care arrangements. They may also refer to the specialist palliative care advice lines at the local hospices within SNEE.

The pharmacy will maintain stocks of the specified list of medicines required to deliver this service and will dispense these in response to NHS prescriptions presented. The stock levels may be requested where there have been reports of failure to hold minimum stocks. The pharmacy will be expected to hold the minimum stock level unless there is evidence of drugs being dispensed and awaiting stock replenishment.

The pharmacy will be expected to report stock levels on a quarterly basis and will receive remuneration for each report submitted. Providers should seek to maintain adequate stocks of medication in line with local demand and in anticipation of reduced wholesaler deliveries, e.g., weekends, bank holiday periods.

Lots (3)

  1. 01

    Provision for North East Essex AllianceCancelled

    The aim of this service is to ensure the availability of medication used for palliative and end of life care and the treatment of c.difficile across Suffolk and North East Essex, the demand for which may be urgent and/or unpredictable.

    The service is designed to improve access to these medicines for patients, carers and healthcare professionals when they are required, in order to ensure that there is no delay to treatment whilst also providing choice.

    This service aims to ensure the provision of medication for Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) and the treatment of c.difficile at all times whilst the pharmacy is open, from selected commissioned pharmacies within Suffolk and North East Essex. The service will operate during all normal opening hours for the community pharmacy and/or any locally commissioned extended hours e.g., Public/Bank holiday rota.

    The pharmacy contractor (provider) will stock minimum stock levels of a locally agreed list of drugs and will make a commitment to ensure those users of this service have prompt access to these medicines. SNEE Integrated Care Board (ICB) may review the medication list and amend in accordance with advice and guidance which the provider must order, if not stocked, with immediate effect.

    Providers will be formally notified in writing by the ICB. If items are to be removed from the list, the ICB will continue to honour the date expiry compensation for that product whilst the contract is in place. The ICB will not be liable to provide funding for expired stock if ordered above the agreed minimum quantities.

    NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board are awarding the contract named within this notice under the Direct Award C process which is outlined within the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

    The provider named in this notice is an existing provider and has been reviewed through a Key Criteria assessment to ensure the awarding body is satisfied with current performance and reasonably expects the provider to be able to satisfy the contract which is the subject of this notice.

    The contract which is the subject of this notice has not changed considerably when compared with the existing / previous contract delivered by the named provider. The ICB may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included in the Specification, at any given time.

    Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in the Contract Notice. To this end, after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the contract may be varied as allowable in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

  2. 02

    Provision for Ipswich and East Suffolk Alliance areaCancelled

    The aim of this service is to ensure the availability of medication used for palliative and end of life care and the treatment of c.difficile across Suffolk and North East Essex, the demand for which may be urgent and/or unpredictable.

    The service is designed to improve access to these medicines for patients, carers and healthcare professionals when they are required, in order to ensure that there is no delay to treatment whilst also providing choice.

    This service aims to ensure the provision of medication for Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) and the treatment of c.difficile at all times whilst the pharmacy is open, from selected commissioned pharmacies within Suffolk and North East Essex. The service will operate during all normal opening hours for the community pharmacy and/or any locally commissioned extended hours e.g., Public/Bank holiday rota.

    The pharmacy contractor (provider) will stock minimum stock levels of a locally agreed list of drugs and will make a commitment to ensure those users of this service have prompt access to these medicines. SNEE Integrated Care Board (ICB) may review the medication list and amend in accordance with advice and guidance which the provider must order, if not stocked, with immediate effect.

    Providers will be formally notified in writing by the ICB. If items are to be removed from the list, the ICB will continue to honour the date expiry compensation for that product whilst the contract is in place. The ICB will not be liable to provide funding for expired stock if ordered above the agreed minimum quantities.

    NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board are awarding the contract named within this notice under the Direct Award C process which is outlined within the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

    The provider named in this notice is an existing provider and has been reviewed through a Key Criteria assessment to ensure the awarding body is satisfied with current performance and reasonably expects the provider to be able to satisfy the contract which is the subject of this notice.

    The contract which is the subject of this notice has not changed considerably when compared with the existing / previous contract delivered by the named provider. The ICB may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included in the Specification, at any given time.

    Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in the Contract Notice. To this end, after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the contract may be varied as allowable in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

  3. 03

    Provision for West Suffolk Alliance areaCancelled

    The aim of this service is to ensure the availability of medication used for palliative and end of life care and the treatment of c.difficile across Suffolk and North East Essex, the demand for which may be urgent and/or unpredictable.

    The service is designed to improve access to these medicines for patients, carers and healthcare professionals when they are required, in order to ensure that there is no delay to treatment whilst also providing choice.

    This service aims to ensure the provision of medication for Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) and the treatment of c.difficile at all times whilst the pharmacy is open, from selected commissioned pharmacies within Suffolk and North East Essex. The service will operate during all normal opening hours for the community pharmacy and/or any locally commissioned extended hours e.g., Public/Bank holiday rota.

    The pharmacy contractor (provider) will stock minimum stock levels of a locally agreed list of drugs and will make a commitment to ensure those users of this service have prompt access to these medicines. SNEE Integrated Care Board (ICB) may review the medication list and amend in accordance with advice and guidance which the provider must order, if not stocked, with immediate effect.

    Providers will be formally notified in writing by the ICB. If items are to be removed from the list, the ICB will continue to honour the date expiry compensation for that product whilst the contract is in place. The ICB will not be liable to provide funding for expired stock if ordered above the agreed minimum quantities.

    NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board are awarding the contract named within this notice under the Direct Award C process which is outlined within the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

    The provider named in this notice is an existing provider and has been reviewed through a Key Criteria assessment to ensure the awarding body is satisfied with current performance and reasonably expects the provider to be able to satisfy the contract which is the subject of this notice.

    The contract which is the subject of this notice has not changed considerably when compared with the existing / previous contract delivered by the named provider. The ICB may wish to introduce additional services during the lifetime of the contract ("Contract modifications"). Such contract modifications will be contemplated where additional requirements are similar and or complementary to the services already included in the Specification, at any given time.

    Such expansion would be by the addition of services commissioned by the Authority as named in the Contract Notice. To this end, after the award of contract, there is a possibility that the contract may be varied as allowable in accordance with the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

02

Key facts

Every field the notice carries. Anything it leaves blank is listed under its table.

Contract

Service
Other health and social care
Procurement type
Standard
Category
Services
Contract period
Not specified - Not specified
Lots
3
Number of suppliers
16

Procedure

Notice type
Tender Notice
Procurement method
Limited
Procedure
Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
Current stage
Award
Stages so far
Tender, Award
Published on
Find a Tender Service
Awardee scale
Large, SME

Values

Contracts value
£14,444

Not stated in the notice: tender value, lots value, awards value.

Status

Tender
Complete
Lots
Cancelled
Awards
Active
Contracts
Active

References

Find a Tender notice
002115-2026
Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-05da15
CPV code
85100000 - Health services
CPV division
85 - Health and social work services
03

Location

NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board is based in Ipswich. The area the service covers can be wider, so check the notice and the lots.
Local authority
Ipswich
Town
Ipswich
Postcode
IP1 2BX
Electoral ward
Gipping
Constituency
Ipswich
Delivery area
Suffolk CC, TLH34 Essex Haven Gateway
Region
East
Sub-region
Ipswich
Area
Suffolk
Country
England
04

Buyer

Contracting authority

Organisation
NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board
Category
Services
Address
Ipswich, IP1 2BX · East · England

Not stated in the notice: contact, phone.

05

Documents and links

Official sources for this notice. The tender pack itself sits on the buyer's portal.
06

Questions about Specialist Medicines Service

Who won the Specialist Medicines Service contract?

The award notice does not name the supplier. The full record is in the official notice linked on this page.

How much is the Specialist Medicines Service contract worth?

The contract value is £14,444, split across 3 lots.

Who is the buyer for Specialist Medicines Service?

NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, based in Ipswich, East.

Get ready for the next round

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What to do next

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