How NHS procurement works in the UK
The NHS is one of the largest buyers of goods and services in the world. In England alone, procurement spend runs to tens of billions of pounds each year, covering everything from clinical consumables and medical equipment to facilities management, digital systems, professional services, and construction. Understanding how that spending reaches the market is the first step for any supplier wanting to work with the health service.
At the national level, NHS England sets policy and commissions large strategic programmes. Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) -- the 42 statutory bodies that replaced Clinical Commissioning Groups in 2022 -- hold budgets and commission services for their local populations, and many issue tenders directly. Below them sit NHS trusts: acute hospital trusts, mental health trusts, community trusts, ambulance trusts, and specialist trusts, each of which has its own procurement team and its own tender pipeline.
NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) acts as a shared service centre for a large number of trusts and ICBs, managing procurement on their behalf and running framework agreements that member organisations can call off from without running a full competitive process. NHS Supply Chain manages the purchase of clinical and non-clinical products for the majority of NHS acute trusts through a category-management model, operating its own framework lots covering surgical instruments, consumables, capital equipment, and more.
Most NHS organisations use procurement portals built on the Atamis platform. There are more than 35 live NHS Atamis portals in operation, each branded to a specific trust or group of trusts. Suppliers must register separately on each portal to respond to tenders from that buyer, which is why aggregation matters: a clinical waste contract from one trust sits on a completely different portal from a facilities management tender at the trust next door.
For contracts above the relevant threshold -- currently set by the Procurement Act 2023 -- NHS bodies are legally required to publish notices on Find a Tender (FTS), the UK's official above-threshold procurement register. FTS is an essential source for large NHS opportunities, but it captures only a fraction of the total volume; many contracts, frameworks, and dynamic purchasing systems are published only on the trust's own portal or on NHS SBS.
Types of NHS tenders
Cleaning and facilities management: Domestic cleaning, infection-control cleaning, portering, laundry, and integrated soft FM contracts are let by individual trusts and through national frameworks. CPV codes include 90910000 (cleaning services) and 79993000 (facilities management services).
Clinical supplies and medical devices: Surgical consumables, personal protective equipment, diagnostics, and specialist clinical equipment are procured through NHS Supply Chain lots and individual trust tenders. Relevant CPV codes include 33140000 (medical consumables) and 33100000 (medical equipment).
IT and digital: Electronic patient record systems, cyber security, data analytics, telehealth platforms, and managed IT services are a growing area of NHS spend. The G-Cloud framework is the primary route for cloud-based digital services, though many trusts also run standalone tenders. CPV codes include 72000000 (IT services) and 48000000 (software packages).
Consultancy and professional services: Management consultancy, workforce planning, legal, and financial advisory services are procured by NHS England, ICBs, and individual trusts. CPV code 79400000 (business and management consultancy) and 73000000 (research and development) are common.
Construction and estates: Capital works, refurbishment, mechanical and electrical maintenance, and energy management contracts are significant in a sector with aging building stock. CPV codes include 45000000 (construction work) and 71000000 (architectural and engineering services).
Catering and food services: Patient catering, staff restaurants, and vending are commonly outsourced. CPV code 55510000 (canteen services) and 55520000 (catering services) cover most of this spend.
Key NHS procurement frameworks and portals
NHS SBS frameworks: NHS Shared Business Services operates framework agreements across FM, clinical supplies, professional services, and IT. Being on an NHS SBS framework gives access to call-off contracts from member organisations without a full competitive tender each time.
Crown Commercial Service frameworks: CCS runs cross-government frameworks that NHS bodies use heavily. G-Cloud (RM1557) is the primary route for cloud software and digital services. RM6187 (Management Consultancy) and RM6228 (Technology Products) are used regularly by NHS buyers.
NHS Atamis portals: More than 35 NHS trusts and ICBs use their own Atamis-powered procurement portal. TenderSignal ingests all 35+ nightly so you see every live opportunity in one place.
Find a Tender: Above-threshold NHS opportunities must be published on FTS under the Procurement Act 2023. TenderSignal includes the full FTS feed alongside all other sources.
How TenderSignal helps NHS suppliers
TenderSignal aggregates more than 600 UK procurement sources, including all 35+ NHS Atamis portals, NHS SBS, and the full FTS feed, into a single daily-updated feed. Instead of logging into each trust portal separately, you describe your business once, set your filters, and see every live NHS tender that matches.
For healthcare suppliers working across multiple NHS organisations, the value is in breadth. Set your CPV codes, regions, and contract value range once, and receive a digest of matched NHS tenders, weekly free or daily on Pro. Pipeline intelligence flags NHS contracts approaching renewal months in advance, giving you time to position before the formal tender is published.
Create a free account to browse live NHS tenders now and see how many active opportunities match your business today.
NHS tender FAQ
How much are NHS tenders worth?
NHS contract values range from small single-site orders under £25,000 through to multi-year national frameworks worth hundreds of millions. Typical service contracts for individual trusts run from £50,000 to £2 million. Cleaning and FM contracts for large acute trusts commonly range from £500,000 to £5 million per year.
Do I need to be on a framework to win NHS contracts?
Not always. Many NHS trusts procure directly through competitive tender above the relevant threshold (currently £213,477 for sub-central authorities under the Procurement Act 2023). Frameworks are more common for clinical supplies and IT; direct procurement is more common for estates, FM, and local professional services. TenderSignal shows both framework call-offs and direct procurement opportunities.
How do I register as an NHS supplier?
Registration varies by route to market. For NHS Atamis portals, you register separately on each trust's portal via their procurement website. For NHS Supply Chain, register through their Selective Supplier Submission portal. For CCS frameworks including G-Cloud, register on the Crown Commercial Service Digital Marketplace. TenderSignal alerts you to which portals have live opportunities relevant to you, so you register where it matters.