SC23191 Coroner Removals and Transfer Service
Main contract details
Coroners investigate deaths that have been reported to them if they have reason to think that:
The death was violent or unnatural;
The cause of death is unknown; or
The deceased died while in prison, police custody or another type of state detention.
When a death is reported to the Coroner, he or she:
establishes whether an investigation is required;
if yes, investigates to establish the identity of the person who has died; how, when, and where they died, and any information to register the death;
and uses information discovered during the investigation to assist in the prevention of other deaths where possible.
Coroners Removals
The coroner may decide that a suitable practitioner (normally a pathologist) is required to examine the deceased and carry out a post-mortem examination to discover the cause of death. In this scenario, the deceased needs to be transported from where it is lying to a designated mortuary for further enquiries to be made (to hold a post-mortem if required). The movement of the deceased to the mortuary constitutes a “Coroners Removal”.
In the cases where a post-mortem has been deemed necessary, the deceased needs to be transferred from the location of death to one of the designated post-mortem facilities below;
QEQM Hospital, Margate
William Harvey Hospital, Ashford
Medway Maritime Hospital, Gillingham
Tunbridge Wells Hospital, Pembury
Darenth Valley Hospital, Dartford
Coroners Transfer
In some cases, it is necessary to transfer the deceased from a designated mortuary to another designated mortuary. These transfers can occur locally as a transfer between mortuaries within Kent and Medway but can occur outside of Kent. This is due to the specific expertise that different mortuaries possess (E.g. London mortuary specialises in child deaths, Brighton mortuary specialises in infectious cases etc.) Cases like these where the deceased is transferred between mortuaries are more commonly known as a “Coroners Transfer”.
Service Requirements
The providers are required to perform the services:
24 hours a day, 365 days of the year;
For a coroner’s removal to be at the place of death within 1 hour (75 minutes in Dover CSEK and Sevenoaks) of being directed to attend by Kent County Constabulary;
For a transfer, to have completed it within 48 hours of being directed to do so by a Coroner’s Officer;
The Procurement Process
This procurement is seeking suppliers to deliver both the Coroner Removals and a Coroners Transfer service across Kent and Medway These areas are divided into geographical lot areas.
The procurement process will involve multiple stages for tenderers including SQ, ITT and finally an ISFT stage following a negotiation period (if required). At this stage, The Council is seeking Selection Questionnaire responses.
The anticipated service commencement date for the new contract is January 1st, which means that mobilisation for the service will occur over December 2024. The Coroners Service will work with your organisation over this period to facilitate a smooth transition into the new contract.
Bidder Briefing
The Council is offering a Bidder Briefing Session, to be held virtually via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday 3rd July 2024 at 10am. The briefing will provide The purpose of this session is to explain the Selection Questionnaire (SQ) process, and support prospective suppliers to use our e-tendering system, the Kent Business Portal.
If you wish to join the briefing, please register at the following address: https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3cd8513b-b800-4263-9d6e-79f422a82b00@3253a20d-c735-4bfe-a8b7-3e6ab37f5f90
If you are unable to attend this session, a recording will be made available to all prospective tenderers following the session. Questions can also be raised via the Kent Business Portal.
Key dates
Expression of interest window
From 25/06/2024 16:00 to 26/07/2024 12:00
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Contact details
Maidstone
Kent
ME14 1XQ
United Kingdom