A technology company is suing NHS England after the firm’s omission of a 17-second video clip from a tender meant it was excluded from a pivotal procurement framework, High Court documents have revealed.
iPlato has told the High Court NHSE unlawfully decided its tender had failed an initial “high-level check” and subsequently left it off the digital pathways framework.
The company mistakenly submitted a draft version of a video that was an obligatory part of the tender process. NHSE evaluators decided the clip submitted left out key information which meant the submission was incomplete.
iPlato’s claim described the decision as “unlawful” and “likely to cause [iPlato] substantial loss and damage”. It added a place on the digital pathways framework – a national procurement tool for general practice to source digital patient pathway and patient assessment products – was crucial to continuing its business in this area with integrated care boards.
The framework required prospective suppliers of care navigation systems to include a video showing all elements of a user journey through the software. NHSE said iPlato had not done this.
Following an exchange of letters between iPlato and its solicitors and NHSE, the company discovered it had mistakenly submitted a “draft video”. This “incomplete file” included the full audio “which described the entire patient journey”, but was missing the final 17 seconds of video footage.
The company asked NHSE “to use its discretion” to correct its submission with the full video. NHSE refused, in part because it said it could be deemed as unequal treatment of iPlato compared with other bidders.
iPlato said the decision to reject the tender breached NHSE’s obligations for transparency and equal treatment under procurement regulations. It also argued the video it submitted included sufficient information to pass the high-level check.
Source: HSJ
Date: 6 March