Thames Water Utilities has awarded a contract for occupational health services  for the Tideway Tunnel worth up to £10 million to Duradiamond Healthcare Limited.

Thames is purchasing on both its own behalf and on behalf of other contracting entities – namely,

• the Infrastructure Provider for the Tunnel, which has yet to be determined and/or a central government department or agency (who may undertake the Project)
• the Category 1 Main Works Contractors for the project.

The framework agreement is for the provision of occupational health services which will be undertaken in London across  24 sites from Acton in the West to Abbey Mills in the East, along the route of the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

The single operator framework agreement is intended to be used by Thames, as well as the Infrastructure Provider and other bodies and contractors on a call off basis for a range of services, including:

• Occupational Health Services called off by each of the Cat 1 Main Works Contractor(s);
• Provision of an on-site occupational health service, mainly based at 4 centralised locations – Hubs- across the Project;
• Equipping of medical rooms within each Hub;
• Provision of a mobile service provision in advance of availability of medical rooms at Hubs;
• Provision of workplace focused interventions aimed at eliminating hazards or controlling exposures that can lead to both acute and chronic occupational disease;
• Provision of worker focused clinical interventions (including pre-placement screening, health surveillance, safety critical medical examinations, drug and alcohol testing including laboratory analysis, treatment services and first aid and emergency response involvement);
• Undertaking of wellbeing programmes;
• Conducting occupational health record keeping;
• Supply of suitably accredited and qualified occupational hygienist, occupational health nurses, physiotherapist and physician; and
• Provision of all necessary test kits and treatment consumables.

The exact value of the agreement depends on the extent to which the contracting bodies call off contracts under the framework during its term, but is currently estimated at between £5m to £10m.

Five firms were in the bidding for the ten year contract, which includes an  option to extend in exceptional circumstances by a period equivalent to any delay to the Cat 1 Main Works or other unforeseen circumstances that might arise.