NHS whittles hospital teams down to 16

Last week the client published a list of 16 contractor-led teams for the scheme, which is currently being piloted in the West Midlands and the North-west.

The longlist includes consortiums formed especially for the deal, including one between Amec, Costain and Mowlem and one with Sir Robert McAlpine and Norwest Holst (see "Lining up", below).

These 16 are expected to be reduced to between eight and 12 groups by the summer, which will mean individual teams will get about £150m a year in work.

NHS Estates head of construction services Peter Woolliscroft said the body would be evaluating the bids from the 16, which will include site visits and interviews, in the next couple of months.

Woolliscroft said: "The whole point of this is to create truly integrated supply chains and not just contractors. The teams include added value services such as healthcare planners and cost consultants. The process is dealing with all aspects of whole life costs."

NHS Estates originally tendered the national roll-out programme last December, claiming that the new procurement method had already shown in its pilots that months could be taken off bidding time.