In response to the Infected Blood Inquiry interim report, an urgent project was initiated to commission a psychological support service for those people infected or affected by contaminated blood.
Working in collaboration with NHS England Specialised Commissioning, NHS England Mental Health Team and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Arden & GEM was asked to lead and advise on the procurement element of this project. This involved a market engagement exercise prior to undertaking a Most Suitable Provider process in compliance with the newly introduced Provider Selection Regime.
Due to the collaborative and trusted working relationship built with the commissioners and specialist procurement expertise provided, this complex and high profile project was delivered successfully within an extremely challenging timescale.
The challenge
The infected blood scandal – which saw more than 30,000 people infected with HIV and hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products – and its subsequent inquiry have been the subject of widespread media coverage in the UK.
In response to the interim inquiry report, senior leaders at NHS England made commissioning a nationwide psychological support service an urgent priority so that beneficiaries could receive much-needed support.
In addition to needing to complete the procurement within a very short timescale, an additional challenge was encountered as ‘The Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023’ had just come into force, introducing new procurement routes to market and regulations.
Recruitment and availability of psychologists was also anticipated to be real challenge for potential providers due to the limited resource for this work and a potentially high demand for the service.
With many years’ experience of working on national specialised commissioning procurement projects and well-established relationships with key stakeholders, Arden & GEM was approached by NHS England to lead and advise on the procurement element of this project.
Our approach
The Arden & GEM Specialised Commissioning Procurement team brought together senior-level expertise in public procurement with in-depth knowledge of specialised commissioning to advise and support the project.
Understanding the requirements
By immersing themselves within the wider project team, the CSU’s procurement specialists ensured a thorough understanding of the service requirements was in place so that relevant and timely advice and guidance could be provided.
Arden & GEM’s procurement lead quickly became a valuable member of the Delivery Board and worked hard to ensure that the procurement process complied with the requirements of the new Provider Selection Regime regulations, minimising risk of challenge throughout.
Undertaking the procurement process
Following a statement made in Parliament that the intention of the DHSC was to implement the service in early summer 2024, an initial market engagement process was undertaken in a challenging timeframe. This preparatory work ensured that the most appropriate procurement process was identified and planned.
This was the first Most Suitable Provider process that had been carried out since the new regulations came into force and involved an in-depth assessment of providers to ascertain their capability and capacity to deliver the service.
The project involved many stakeholders with various priorities and experience of procurement. There was a need to communicate effectively to bring everyone up to speed with process requirements, balance the needs of the team and coordinate the timescales of the project to ensure the key stakeholders were able to participate in the project at the required stages.
The process was completed and resulted in 16 successful contracts being awarded to cover the whole of England with no representations from the outcome of the procurement. Providers were then able to begin to deliver this important and high-profile service in the summer of 2024.
Due to the excellent collaborative working relationship with the commissioners, this complex and high profile project was delivered successfully.
The outcomes
The initial project objectives have been achieved and beneficiaries are now receiving this important service. Throughout the process, those people infected and affected by infected blood were engaged and consulted in shaping a service which they can now access.
All contracts are in place with the 16 providers across England following the successful procurement process and England’s Infected Blood Psychological Service (IBPS) went fully live in June 2025 with a total contract value of approximately £22million.
"I just wanted to quickly reach out to you all – past colleagues who have worked on the IBPS at one stage or another – to say HUGE thanks to each and every one of you for your role in making the new bespoke psychological service for infected blood victims a reality. Your contributions have really made a big difference for those in the community."
Jullie Tran Graham, Senior Programme Manager, Mental Health Team at NHS England
"I want to take this opportunity to say a very big thank you to you, to the infected blood community, and all the organisations we have been working with over the last year. It is down to everyone’s patience and input that we now have a high quality and bespoke specialist service for all of those who have been infected and affected by the contaminated blood scandal."
Dr Sarah Helps, National Professional Clinical Lead at Infected Blood Psychological Service
Find out more about Arden & GEM's procurement support services.