National Infection and Sepsis Audit for Acute NHS Hospitals

The UK is seeking a contractor to deliver a new national clinical audit programme monitoring infection and sepsis care in acute NHS hospital settings across England and Wales. This three-year contract (with potential two-year extension) will establish benchmarked data to identify variations in care and drive improvements in early recognition and treatment of severe infection and sepsis. The core contract value is £1,146,300 excluding VAT (£1,375,560 including VAT), with a potential ceiling of £8,988,606 including VAT if extensions are exercised. The audit will support NHS England's sepsis Modern Service Framework, which aims to reduce sepsis-related deaths, complications and health inequalities by 25% by 2035. The programme will align with NICE guidelines (NG253-NG255), UK antimicrobial resistance initiatives, and safety investigations that have identified critical improvement opportunities in early-stage infection management. Sepsis causes over 23,000 deaths annually in the UK and costs the NHS over £1 billion yearly in direct care, with wider economic costs estimated at £10-15 billion annually. The audit will focus initially on early stages of care, where prompt and effective treatment is vital to improving patient outcomes and reducing clinical negligence claims related to diagnosis and treatment delays.