Winning NHS and Healthcare Contracts with Thornton & Lowe

Tendering for NHS and healthcare tenders requires a strategic approach, sector expertise, and a high-quality bid submission that stands out. At Thornton & Lowe, we work with healthcare providers, social care organisations, and suppliers to identify, prepare, and submit winning tenders. Whether you’re targeting NHS contracts, local authority frameworks, or private sector opportunities, we provide the bid writing, bid management, and bid improvement support needed to increase your success rate.

Step-by-Step Approach to Securing Healthcare Tenders

1. Identify the Right NHS and Healthcare Tenders

Not all contracts will be a good fit. Before investing time and resources into bid writing, we help you:

• Search & Select tenders that align with your services, accreditations, and capacity.
• Evaluate buyer requirements to determine if the contract is deliverable and profitable.
• Assess competition and establish a bid/no-bid decision-making framework.

Using our Tender Pipeline tool, we streamline this process and track NHS and local authority tenders across all healthcare sectors.

2. Meet the Buyer’s Compliance and Qualification Standards

For NHS tenders, providers must demonstrate compliance with strict regulatory and quality frameworks. Common requirements include:

• CQC (Care Quality Commission) registration (for care providers).
• ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and ISO 27001 (Data Security) certifications.
• Cyber Essentials Plus – often required for handling NHS patient data.
• GDPR compliance and NHS DSPT (Data Security and Protection Toolkit) certification.
• Clinical governance policies ensuring patient safety and safeguarding.

Without these, even a high-scoring bid can be disqualified. Our Bid Readiness service ensures your business meets these criteria before tendering.

3. Develop a Strong Win Strategy and Value Proposition

With NHS procurement moving towards best-value evaluation, buyers want quality-driven, patient-centric solutions. To stand out, your bid must:

✅ Align with NHS priorities – patient care, efficiency, and cost savings.
✅ Showcase past performance – include CQC ratings, patient outcome data, and contract KPIs.
✅ Address social value commitments – local employment, carbon reduction, and community engagement.

We help you craft a clear win strategy, ensuring your bid resonates with NHS evaluators.

4. NHS Tender Writing – Creating a High-Scoring Response

Writing for NHS and local authority contracts is highly technical. We ensure:

• Directly addressing all questions – avoiding vague or generic responses.
• Providing quantifiable evidence – past project data, performance metrics, and case studies.
• Embedding NHS-specific language – MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender), integrated care systems, and health inequalities strategies.
• Highlighting risk management – demonstrating contingency planning and compliance with NHS governance structures.

Using our Tender Library system, we build a repository of strong bid content, reducing turnaround time for future submissions.

5. Pricing NHS Tenders – Setting Competitive and Sustainable Costs

Pricing is often weighted at 30-40% of the total evaluation score, meaning a poorly structured pricing model can lose the contract. We help you:

✔ Understand the contract budget – ensuring your pricing aligns with NHS affordability models.
✔ Develop cost-effective service delivery plans – balancing competitive pricing with sustainable margins.
✔ Justify added value – demonstrating cost savings through innovation, efficiency, or improved patient outcomes.

Our pricing specialists benchmark costs against market trends, reducing financial risk while maintaining competitiveness.

6. Post-Tender Support – Mobilisation and Contract Performance

Winning an NHS contract is just the beginning. The first six months of service delivery are heavily monitored, making post-tender mobilisation critical. We assist with:

• Mobilisation planning – ensuring smooth contract transition and workforce readiness.
• KPI tracking and performance reporting – helping maintain compliance with NHS contract terms.
• Handling contract variations and renewals – preparing for re-tendering and securing long-term work.

We also support contract extensions and bid improvements to ensure continued success.

🚀 Expert Healthcare Bidding Tips

✔ Use NHS Market Engagement – Attend supplier events, respond to soft market testing exercises, and interact with commissioners before tenders go live.

✔ Maximise Your Bid Library – Maintain a well-organised collection of pre-written responses, case studies, and policies for faster, more consistent submissions.

✔ Use Spend Data to Identify Opportunities – Analyse NHS and local authority procurement spend to target high-value frameworks and contracts.

✔ Optimise Your Pricing Strategy – NHS buyers prioritise value for money rather than just cost. Factor in MEAT (Most Economically Advantageous Tender) criteria to balance price and quality.

✔ Track and Improve Your Success Rate – Monitor win/loss ratios, evaluator feedback, and scoring trends to continuously refine your bid strategy.

✔ Work with Bid Writing Experts – If you need specialist support, our team can handle the full bid process, review your drafts, or mentor your internal team for better results.