Cardiff and Vale University Health Board require the replacement and maintenance of Central Water Plants within University Hospital Wales as these are approaching the end of life. This includes the Lower Ground Floor Plant Room feeding Dave Thomas Renal Unit, B5 Acute Ward and Children’s Hospital Renal Unit. The water treatment plant(s) will be required to supply RO water suitable for on-line haemodiafiltration treatments to the renal ward areas (various areas of Renal Inpatients, ward areas) and Renal Technology maintenance area. The water quality must as a minimum requirement meet the standards set out within ISO 13959:2024

Procurement Act 2023

Direct award The rationale is based on the requirement to maintain compatibility, continuity of service and operational resilience within the existing installation. Vantive is the original equipment manufacturer/supplier of the existing system and has the necessary proprietary knowledge, technical expertise, spare parts availability and accredited support arrangements required to maintain and support the equipment safely and effectively. A change in supplier would create significant technical and operational challenges, including compatibility risks with existing infrastructure, the potential requirement for additional validation and staff training, interruption to critical clinical services, and increased costs associated with replacing or modifying existing equipment and support arrangements. The proposed award is therefore justified on the basis that competition is absent for technical reasons and that only Vantive can provide the required goods/services whilst ensuring continuity, interoperability and patient safety. The justification is it will avoid disproportionate technical difficulties and additional costs that would arise from engaging an alternative supplier, whilst maintaining the reliability and performance of the existing service. The existing Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant serving the renal unit has reached end of life and requires replacement to ensure the continued provision of a safe and reliable water treatment system for haemodialysis services. The proposed replacement solution is a new generation Vantive RO system, providing compatibility with the existing Vantive infrastructure, dialysis equipment interfaces, operating procedures, maintenance arrangements and clinical requirements. Procuring an alternative manufacturer's system would introduce significant technical and operational challenges, including the need for extensive redesign of existing infrastructure, validation and commissioning of a different technology platform, revised maintenance arrangements, additional staff training requirements and increased risks during transition. This would result in disproportionate technical difficulties, additional cost and potential disruption to critical renal services. Vantive possesses the specialist technical knowledge of the existing installation and is best placed to ensure seamless replacement, integration, validation and ongoing support of the new RO system. The direct award is therefore considered necessary to maintain continuity of service, minimise operational and patient safety risks, and ensure technical compatibility with the existing renal water treatment infrastructure.