The UK Health Security Agency has opened a market engagement to understand capabilities in surveillance, infection identification, case management, and contact tracing during a UK health emergency.
The agency sets objectives to support preparedness planning and ensure access to scalable and deployable digital capabilities that can aid in reducing transmission and support public health interventions during a future pandemic or other infectious disease emergency.
In particular, more information is sought around current and emerging technologies, including those not specifically designed for pandemic response, that could be used in the monitoring and management of infection transmission, the deployment of infection control measures, exposure identification, and public communications during a health emergency.
The agency further seeks to understand suppliers’ manufacturing, delivery, and operational capacity to assess their ability for rapid deployment at scale; to evaluate the effectiveness and performance of different intervention and surveillance technologies in diverse settings; and to understand the costs associated with implementation of these types of technologies, covering licensing, infrastructure, user adoption, and integration.
Feedback is hoped to help identify innovative approaches and emerging technologies that can improve public health outcomes, informing the agency’s future commercial strategy, and ensuring procurement requirements maximise competition and innovation.
The deadline for engagement is 2 October 2026.
Wider trend: Health tech procurement
Barts Health NHS Trust is looking to procure a fertility EPR system with a total estimated value of £350,000. The system to support its fertility clinics will be awarded based on criteria including quality (60 percent weighting), price (30 percent weighting), and social value (ten percent weighting), according to the trust. The contract will run from October 2026 to September 2028 initially, with a possible extension for a further 12 months taking it up to a total of three years.
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has awarded a contract worth £145,710 to Orchid Software for an occupational health EPR. The supplier website notes the tool provides efficient case management with access for specialists, supporting case management and health surveillance. The award, made as a call-off from a framework agreement, covers a three-year period to 30 July 2029.
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has opened a procurement for a digital consent and sharing decision making solution with an estimated total value of £135,000. The trust is calling for the submission of tenders from interested suppliers, with a contract to be awarded to run from January 2027 for 36 months. This initial period may then be followed by two 12-month extension periods, according to the trust, taking it to January 2032.
