Capsticks advises NHS bodies on £250m proton beam therapy project

Capsticks has advised the NHS on a £250m proton beam therapy (PBT) equipment and buildings procurement.

The project was commissioned by the Department of Health and NHS England through The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) for the purchase of proton particle physics equipment and building accommodation at the Trust sites in Manchester and London.

PBT is path-finding in terms of the technology used and provides finely targeted treatment which limits damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

The equipment and building contracts were completed simultaneously for both Trusts in July 2015, after almost two years competitive dialogue, within three weeks of the target transaction completion date.

Capsticks was the sole co-ordinator for each Trust of separate procurements for the equipment and buildings, managing legal negotiations involving three equipment bidders and four building contractor bidders.

Each trust’s team consisted of leading UK medical physics clinicians, its capital projects directorate, procurement specialists, the supplier’s teams, and the building design and construction teams, all of whom were involved in this complex procurement throughout.

UCLH and The Christie said: “Capsticks understood at the outset the complexity of the task and, as such, their advice, guidance and diligence in developing the contracts has been instrumental in ensuring that this high profile programme remains on track to deliver proton beam therapy to NHS patients in the UK in 2018”.

The Capsticks team, led by Colin Lynch, Head of Commercial, provided full legal support for both Trusts on the equipment, build and related services procurements and the funding arrangements with the Department of Health and NHS England. This ranged from the development of commercial principles describing the project legal risk profiles through drafting, developing and refining contracts; representing the Trusts in competitive and contractor dialogues; and assisting on the legal aspects of internal and external approvals.