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Public Procurement - case studies

Advising a private healthcare provider

We have been advising a private healthcare provider on their bids for Wave 2 of the Elective Services as part of the DoH ISTC programme. The advice we have provided encompasses a complex multi-million pound public procurement of elective health services for two regions within the UK. A very wide range of commercial advice was required in connection with this complex multi-health delivery service contract comprising innovative performance and pricing terms. The contracts are underpinned by a substantial supply chain of outsourced services and use of equipment supplied by both private sub-contractors and the NHS. As the contract will also borrow the use of NHS staff, important employment issues arise in which advice has been given.

Confidentiality is a significant issue in what had been prolonged complex negotiations in a groundbreaking scheme designed to create a new market for delivery of public services. Competition issues have arisen in the course of negotiations particularly around level playing fields for all potential providers. We provided advice on property construction and planning issues as new and extended hospital facilities are required to be built on NHS and non-NHS premises in order to deliver services. This included the full range of construction advice on construction contracts appointments and warranties as well as the usual environmental and planning matters applicable to hospital construction.

As services will be carried out in hospital units, the full application of NHS and Health Commission regulatory provision applies and appropriate advice given. Full corporate and funding advice has been required to support equity and loan finance raised as part of the scheme. The contracts also require a broad provision of IMT and relevant intellectual property advice including assignment, software and other licensing particularly to support electronic referral and patient record systems compatible with those of the NHS as well as a review of all of the intellectual property issues applicable to the provision of services by the client and its whole supply chain.

The property aspects include acquisition of land, site development, leasing and licensing arrangements. Finally the entire matter was handled as a single integrated multi-disciplinary project involving a full range of commercial legal services supplied to a large sophisticated client with a range of departments from finance and treasury to construction and estates management to clinical services and supply chain procurement.

Working with Bevan Brittan