Largest managed equipment deal yet

Under the £140m, 18.9 year MES deal Asteral will install, commission and manage the latest equipment across the Trust’s multiple sites for the contract’s lifetime, also providing management, training and related support services across each site. Trust hospitals currently include Glenfield Hospital, Leicester General and Leicester Royal Infirmary. In total the facilities serve nearly two million people across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Equipment in the MES includes ultrasound, MRI and CT scanners, digital X-ray rooms, interventional fluoroscopy, cardiac catheter labs, static and mobile mammography services and three robotic pharmacies.

The contract includes an “uptime guarantee”, which Asteral says will ensure improved availability of the latest digital equipment, allowing the Trust to deliver swifter patient throughput and reduced patient waiting times. A guaranteed rolling replacement programme, with each equipment type having a pre-agreed lifecycle, should ensure equipment keeps up with the latest technological developments.

Helen Seth, deputy director, operations, at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, says: “This is an innovative approach to the procurement, management and replacement of over 210 items of clinical equipment that will deliver real benefits to the patients served.”