Tribal Grp. Regulatory News (TRB)

12 Dec 2006 07:01

Tribal Group PLC12 December 2006 Mercury Health appointed as preferred bidder for Essex ISTC contract Mercury Health, the healthcare delivery arm of Tribal Group plc, is pleased toannounce that it has been appointed as preferred bidder by the Department ofHealth on a substantial five-year contract to provide NHS patients in Essex witha range of surgical, orthodontic, rehabilitation and sexual health & familyplanning services. This contract is part of Phase 2 of the Department ofHealth's Independent Sector Treatment Centre (ISTC) programme. The scheme is expected to include two in-patient and day-case treatment centres,one in Braintree and one in Basildon, and a day case surgical centre inSouthend. Community rehabilitation services to improve the rate of recovery andquality of life for stroke victims and patients with heart and lung disease willalso be part of the contract. Sexual Health and Family Planning services will beprovided throughout the county. Overall, it is expected that Mercury Health will provide a total ofapproximately 29,000 additional procedures and appointments annually to theEssex community. The main services are expected to be delivered from Autumn 2008with orthodontic and sexual health services commencing in Autumn 2007. It isexpected that financial close will be reached in Spring 2007. Mercury Health Chief Executive, Peter Martin, said: "We are delighted to have been appointed as preferred bidder on this importantcontract to deliver health services to NHS patients in Essex. This announcementextends our existing partnership with the NHS and builds on recent success inbeing chosen as preferred bidder for a major diagnostics contract treating NHSpatients in the West Midlands. The Essex contract will complement MercuryHealth's existing surgical, diagnostic and primary care services." Ends For further information, please contact: Henry Pitman, Chief Executive - 01285 886020Simon Lawton, Group Finance Director - 01285 886020Peter Martin, Chief Executive, Mercury Health - 0118 952 1900 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange