NHS Shared Business Services has appointed waste contractors to a contract framework, which is intended to reduce the time it takes for NHS organisations to procure waste services.
Six contractors were put forward for clinical waste contracts
The ‘Waste Management and Minimisation Services framework’ is free to access for both NHS and other public sector organisations and lists suppliers who are able to provide six different types of waste services.
It is hoped that this would enable NHS organisations to provide a legally-compliant and value-for-money means of purchasing a comprehensive range of waste services, without the need to run a separate procurement each time.
‘Robust evaluation’
NHS Shared Business Services said that each contractor was placed on the framework following a “robust quality evaluation” in the form of a fully-compliant Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) tender process.
The tender, inviting firms to be part of the framework, was issued in the OJEU and was split into six lots: clinical waste, reusable sharps, sanitary and washroom services, domestic Waste, Confidential Waste Destruction and Disposal, and Total Waste Management.
Three suppliers were put forward to provide a “safe sustainable and compliant” collection of reusable sharp containers
A spokesperson for NHS Shared Business Services, told Letsrecycle.com: “NHS and wider public sector framework users can procure services from those suppliers that best meet their individual requirements, saving significant time and money as a result of not needing to run a complex local procurement exercise.
“The framework was also developed with a particular focus on the environmental impact of the waste services provided, including the appropriate segregation, safe handling and recycling of clinical and domestic waste products.”
Clinical waste
The first lot in the contract was for clinical waste, and six bids for inclusion were received from companies across England, all of which were taken forward.
Clinical waste covers the ‘collection, transportation, and appropriate disposal method at agreed locations’ for incineration, alternative treatment and/or landfill of clinical healthcare waste. This includes, pharmaceutical, anatomical, sharps and laboratory wastes.
Re-usable sharps
All six bids for domestic waste were taken forward
The second lot covered re-usable sharps, which covers providing a “safe sustainable and compliant” managed solution for the implementation, supply, collection and cleaning of reusable sharp containers.
This would be, for example, where needles and other medical sharp equipment is disposed of after use.
Three of the six bids received were accepted.
Washroom Services
A total of six bids were received for sanitary and washroom services – the third lot – three of which were taken forward.
Confidential waste destruction was the most popular, attracting 10 submissions
These were from Personnel Hygiene Services, Rentokil Initial UK Ltd and Shorrock Trichem Ltd, based in Wilnecote, Surrey and Manchester respectively.
The services in this lot cover the collection and disposal of sanitary waste with the aim of providing “washroom visitors with a discreet and hygienic way to dispose of sanitary waste”.
Domestic waste
Domestic waste covers the collection, transportation, minimisation and appropriate disposal method for “domestic waste”. This received six bids, which were all taken forward.
Confidential waste destruction, the fifth lot, was the most popular contract, receiving 10 submissions for inclusion, with 9 of them going forward.
Total waste management services will include at least 2 service areas classified under waste management and minimisation services
This work was put out for a contractor “to handle all confidential waste, allowing participating authorities to comply with legislation and best practices surrounding the handling of confidential waste” as well as ensuring that the client, employee and confidential business information is kept secure at all times for destruction or destroyed.
The final lot was for ‘total waste management services’, which received six bids, with all of them chosen to go forward.
The scope of the total waste management solution service will include at least 2 service areas classified under waste management and minimisation services this will be agreed at contract stage. This agreement may include, but not be limited to the individual service areas or bundled service areas forming part of this agreement.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
