Market Engagement Exercise: Paediatric Burn Centre in London, South-East and East of England

NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands Commissioning Support Unit (AGCSU), on behalf of NHS England Specialised Commissioning (referred to as the Commissioner), is undertaking a market engagement exercise to understand the current and future capacity and capability of potential providers within this specialised area. This notice is to advise prospective providers in the market of the commissioner’s intention to commission this service and to provide an opportunity to engage with and participate in a market engagement questionnaire.

The Commissioner would also like to invite prospective providers to a Virtual Market Engagement Event at 10:00am on Wednesday 20th May 2026. The findings from this market engagement exercise will help inform commissioners of the current and future capacity and capability of the market.

The information collected will be considered alongside other evidence to inform commissioners in deciding the commissioning approach. Therefore commissioners also welcome feedback from stakeholders with relevant experience or insight to the service or wider care pathway.

Participation to this market engagement will close at 12pm (noon), 3 June 2026. NHS England commissions specialist burn care services for children.

There are three tiers of specialist burn care - Burn Centres, Burn Units and Burn Facilities which are delivered as part of an Operational Delivery Network. Paediatric Burn Centres provide care for children with the most severe injuries and for those requiring the highest level of critical care from across the operational delivery network.

They are also required to provide unit and facility-level care for their more local population. This Market Engagement Exercise only relates to Paediatric Burn Centre care for children with the most severe injuries and for those requiring the highest level of critical care from across the operational delivery network.

The aim of the service is to deliver high quality multi-disciplinary specialist care, to children and young people after burn injury, covering the whole patient pathway from referral to completion of care or transition to adult services. Burn Centres provide care for service users with the most severe injuries and for those requiring the highest level of critical care in line with National Burn Care Referral Guidance 2012 (https://www.britishburnassociation.org/national-burn-care...).

They also provide unit and facility-level care for their more local population. Aligned to the British Burn Association National Standards for the Provision of Adult & Paediatric Burn Care (2023) (https://www.britishburnassociation.org/wp-content/uploads...), paediatric burn care services must be compliant with a series of essential co located and / or interdependent services as set out in the service specification (https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/230...).

The anticipated contract duration for this service is 8 years, with the Commissioner having the option to extend the contract up to a further 18 months (maximum contract duration 9.5 years). Documentation relating to this exercise including a questionnaire is available through the Atamis (Health Family) portal.

To express your interest, access the questionnaire, and register for the virtual event please follow this link to the Atamis (HealthFamily) portal: https://health-family.force.com/s/Welcome The project reference is C437725 and the closing date for submission of the completed questionnaire is: 12pm (noon) 3 June 2026.