Blood Culture pathway- Health economic analysis

NHS England is seeking a provider to undertake a health economic analysis of the blood culture pathway, using real-world data to assess the potential clinical and financial impact of improving pre-analytical blood culture practices in England.

The project will support the development of future national guidance relating to specific diagnostics and care pathways for detecting infection and reducing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).

The work will build on an existing economic model, incorporating English real-world data wherever possible and adding further detail to better reflect the resources, costs and benefits associated with optimising the blood culture pathway.

The strategic aim is to provide evidence supporting changes to the blood culture pathway that could improve outcomes for patients with sepsis.

Project Requirements

The successful provider will be required to update and further develop the existing economic model.

Key objectives include:

• Updating the model using English real-world data wherever possible
• Validating model inputs, assumptions and results with subject matter experts
• Updating the associated report
• Incorporating additional detail to more accurately capture resource use, costs and benefits associated with optimising the blood culture pathway
• Conducting additional analyses within the existing model to address other challenges
• Designing and developing a flexible interface allowing users to input their own data
• Enabling the generation of trust-specific outcomes and business cases
• Developing the report into a manuscript
• Submitting the manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal, with potential submission to a pre-print journal
• Producing peer-reviewed and referenceable evidence

Contract Information

• Buyer: NHS England
• Deadline: 5 October 2026, 12:00pm
• Contract Value: £72,000 excluding VAT (£84,000 including VAT)
• Delivery Length: 1 November 2026 to 31 March 2027 – 5 months
• Tender Link: Click here

Reference: C408616

Suppliers must submit bids electronically through the Atamis e-tendering portal. Organisations must also be registered on the Central Digital Platform if they have not already completed registration.

Evaluation Criteria

Tenders will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Technical / Quality – 80%, including 10% Social Value
• Commercial / Price – 20%

The procurement is being conducted as a below-threshold open competition.

The opportunity provides a focused research and health economics contract for organisations with the capability to work with real-world healthcare data, economic modelling and evidence development. The resulting analysis is intended to support future national guidance and provide evidence around potential improvements to blood culture practices, infection detection and the reduction of AMR.

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