About Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust is the largest of the five integrated trusts in Northern Ireland. Integration is the point worth grasping first: in Northern Ireland, health and social care are delivered by the same organisations rather than split between the health service and local government as they are in Great Britain. A single trust therefore commissions hospital care, community nursing, children's social services and adult social care under one procurement function.
The trust runs the Royal Victoria Hospital, the Belfast City Hospital, the Mater and the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, alongside regional specialist services that treat patients from across Northern Ireland. That regional role means some of what it buys is for the whole jurisdiction rather than the Belfast area alone.
Recent awards by Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Northern Irish public sector notices are published through eTendersNI, the regional portal, with above threshold activity also reaching Find a Tender. Coverage of Northern Irish activity in UK wide datasets is generally thinner than for the other three nations, and ours is no exception, so the award history visible here should be read as a sample of the trust's activity rather than a complete record.
The distinct supplier count relative to notice volume is high, which suggests a pattern of many specialist purchases rather than a small number of consolidated contracts, consistent with a trust that buys locally around a regional supplies function.
Frameworks Belfast Health and Social Care Trust uses
The main collaborative route in Northern Ireland is the Business Services Organisation's Procurement and Logistics Service, which buys clinical goods and a wide range of other categories on behalf of the health and social care trusts. Where a regional contract exists, the trust calls off from it rather than running its own competition.
Beyond that, Centres of Procurement Expertise handle construction and other specialist categories for the Northern Irish public sector, and trusts may use UK wide agreements where no regional arrangement applies. Suppliers should establish which of these three layers covers their category before deciding who to approach.
Common CPVs procured by Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Division 33, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, leads, as it does for any acute provider. Division 15, food and beverages, is prominent and reflects hospital catering across a large multi site estate. Division 50, repair and maintenance services, and division 31, electrical machinery and equipment, cover the maintenance of clinical and building plant. Division 38, laboratory and precision equipment, and division 35, security and safety equipment, complete the profile. The relative prominence of food and maintenance categories reflects a provider trust buying to keep hospitals running rather than a commissioner buying services.
Frequently asked questions
Where are Northern Irish public sector tenders published?
On eTendersNI, the regional procurement portal, which is separate from Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland and Sell2Wales. Above threshold notices also appear on Find a Tender. A supplier monitoring only the UK wide platforms will miss most Northern Irish activity, including a large share of health and social care buying.
What does integrated health and social care mean for suppliers?
It means one customer covers requirements that in England would be split between an NHS trust and a county or unitary council. Suppliers of care services, equipment for independent living, children's services support and community health provision deal with the same organisation. It also means social care contracts follow health procurement rules and timescales rather than local government ones.
How does the Business Services Organisation relate to the trust?
The Business Services Organisation provides shared services to Northern Irish health and social care, and its Procurement and Logistics Service buys regionally on behalf of the trusts. The trust remains a contracting authority in its own right for what the regional service does not cover, but for clinical consumables and most common goods the regional route is the one that matters.
Does the Procurement Act 2023 apply in Northern Ireland?
Yes. The Act extends to Northern Ireland, with certain provisions applying differently and with Northern Irish specific guidance issued by the Department of Finance. The notice types and central platform obligations broadly mirror those in England and Wales, while the regional portal remains the practical place suppliers find opportunities.
| Title | CPV category | Value | Award date |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEC4 FRAMEWORKS FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES IN CONNECTION WITH MINOR WORKS SCHEMES WITH A VALUE UP TO FIVE MILLION POUNDS FOR BELFAST, NORTHERN, SOUTH EASTERN, SOUTHERN AND WESTERN HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE TRUSTS | Architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services | £30,000,000 | |
| Sensory Equipment | Sound or visual signalling apparatus | £2,510,994.49 | 2026-09-02 |
| Data as of 09 Aug 2026 | |||
Frequently asked questions
Where are Northern Irish public sector tenders published?
On eTendersNI, the regional procurement portal, which is separate from Find a Tender, Contracts Finder, Public Contracts Scotland and Sell2Wales. Above threshold notices also appear on Find a Tender. A supplier monitoring only the UK wide platforms will miss most Northern Irish activity, including a large share of health and social care buying.
What does integrated health and social care mean for suppliers?
It means one customer covers requirements that in England would be split between an NHS trust and a county or unitary council. Suppliers of care services, equipment for independent living, children's services support and community health provision deal with the same organisation. It also means social care contracts follow health procurement rules and timescales rather than local government ones.
How does the Business Services Organisation relate to the trust?
The Business Services Organisation provides shared services to Northern Irish health and social care, and its Procurement and Logistics Service buys regionally on behalf of the trusts. The trust remains a contracting authority in its own right for what the regional service does not cover, but for clinical consumables and most common goods the regional route is the one that matters.
Does the Procurement Act 2023 apply in Northern Ireland?
Yes. The Act extends to Northern Ireland, with certain provisions applying differently and with Northern Irish specific guidance issued by the Department of Finance. The notice types and central platform obligations broadly mirror those in England and Wales, while the regional portal remains the practical place suppliers find opportunities.