Request for Proposals (RFP), Clinical Cleaning Services – Gilbert Centre Clinic

Issuing Organization: The Gilbert Centre for Social & Support Services
Primary Contact: Kissayris M., Health Programs Manager
Email: KissayrisM@GilbertCentre.ca
Clinic Location: 525-80 Bradford St. S., Barrie, Ontario
Issue Date: May 25, 2026
Questions Deadline: June 08, 2026
Proposal Submission Deadline: June 15, 2026

1. Introduction

The Gilbert Centre is seeking proposals from qualified vendors to provide scheduled clinical cleaning services for its clinic located at 525-80 Bradford St. S., Barrie, Ontario.

The clinic provides low-barrier health services, including clinical care and community-based programming. A clean, safe, confidential, and infection-controlled environment is essential to supporting client care and staff safety.

The successful vendor will provide reliable after-hours cleaning services, demonstrate appropriate infection prevention and control practices, and ensure assigned cleaning staff understand confidentiality, privacy, security, and site-specific expectations.

2. Site Description

The clinic is approximately 700 square feet and includes:

Two exam rooms;
One laboratory/preparation room;
One storage room;
Administrative office areas;
Client waiting area; and
Related clinical and administrative surfaces within the clinic footprint.

The laboratory/preparation room includes a vaccine fridge, medical supplies, clinical equipment, administrative lab preparation areas, specimen handling areas, and specimen fridge storage.

The successful vendor must not move, handle, clean, open, dispose of, or interfere with clinical specimens, vaccines, medications, medical supplies, clinical equipment, confidential documents, or restricted materials unless expressly directed by authorized Gilbert Centre staff and supported by appropriate training, PPE, and procedures.

Washrooms are located outside the clinic space and are not included in the routine scope of work unless otherwise agreed in writing.

3. Scope of Work

The successful vendor will provide scheduled environmental cleaning and disinfection services for the clinic, including the areas and tasks described below.

3.1 General Cleaning

Vacuuming and/or sweeping floors, as applicable;
Mopping hard-surface floors using appropriate products and procedures;
Dusting and wiping accessible surfaces;
Cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces, including door handles, light switches, counters, chairs, desks, and other frequently touched surfaces;
Emptying regular garbage and recycling bins;
Handling clinical-adjacent waste and other agreed waste streams as directed through the final agreement, site orientation, and applicable training;
Replacing garbage and recycling liners where required;
Spot cleaning walls, doors, and visible marks as needed; and
Notifying the Gilbert Centre of maintenance, safety, supply, waste, pest, odour, water, security, or cleanliness concerns observed during service.

3.2 Clinical Areas

Scheduled environmental cleaning and disinfection of exam rooms;
Cleaning and disinfecting approved counters, sinks, chairs, examination-adjacent surfaces, and other high-touch surfaces;
Cleaning and disinfecting approved laboratory/preparation room surfaces, while avoiding restricted clinical materials, specimens, vaccine storage, clinical equipment, and confidential materials unless expressly directed; and
Ensuring clinical rooms are left visibly clean, orderly, and safe following scheduled cleaning.

Clinic staff remain responsible for between-client cleaning, immediate cleaning needs during clinic operations, vaccine handling, specimen handling, and cleaning or disinfecting clinical equipment unless otherwise directed in writing.

3.3 Common and Administrative Areas

Cleaning and disinfecting waiting area surfaces and furniture;
Cleaning accessible administrative surfaces and workstations, while avoiding confidential documents, client records, computers, locked cabinets, files, and personal or sensitive materials;
Cleaning interior door handles and other high-touch access points within the clinic space; and
Maintaining an orderly and professional appearance in client-facing areas.

3.4 Exclusions

Unless expressly agreed in writing, the following are excluded from the contractor’s scope:

Handling, moving, or disposing of clinical specimens;
Handling vaccines, medications, test kits, lab samples, or medical supplies;
Accessing or moving confidential documents, client records, computers, locked storage, or staff belongings;
Laundry or linen services;
Pest control; and
Repairs, maintenance, or facilities work.

4. Cleaning Schedule

Cleaning services are expected to occur after regular clinic/building operating hours. The proposed routine schedule is:

Wednesdays after 4:00 PM; and
Fridays after 4:00 PM.

The final schedule will be confirmed with the successful vendor. Vendors may propose alternate or additional scheduling recommendations where they believe these would better meet the clinic’s needs.

The clinic operates approximately four to five days per week. Clinic staff will complete basic office-level and between-use cleaning during service hours as appropriate and reasonable. The contractor’s role is to provide scheduled after-hours environmental cleaning and disinfection.

Vendors should indicate their availability for occasional additional or urgent cleaning services, including the rate and minimum call-out time, if applicable.

5. Infection Prevention and Control Requirements

The successful vendor must demonstrate infection prevention and control practices suitable for a community-based clinical environment. Vendors should describe their approach to clinical cleaning and confirm that their practices align with applicable Ontario health care environmental cleaning guidance and infection prevention and control best practices.

At minimum, vendors must ensure:

Cleaning from least soiled to most soiled areas;
Cleaning from high surfaces to low surfaces;
Routine disinfection of high-touch surfaces;
Use of healthcare-appropriate disinfectants suitable for clinical settings;
Use of products according to manufacturer instructions, including dilution, contact/wet time, compatibility, storage, and expiry;
Use of clean cloths and mop heads, with no cross-contamination between areas;
Separate or colour-coded cleaning tools for clinical, laboratory/preparation, administrative, and common areas, where appropriate;
No topping up of chemical containers unless using an approved and properly labelled refill system;
Safe waste handling practices, including no compression of garbage bags by hand;
Appropriate hand hygiene before and after cleaning activities;
Appropriate PPE for cleaning staff;
Immediate reporting of hazards or concerns outside the agreed cleaning scope; and
Training and supervision of cleaning staff in the vendor’s infection prevention and control procedures.

The successful vendor must provide a list of proposed cleaning and disinfecting products, including Safety Data Sheets and disinfectant information, before services begin. The Gilbert Centre reserves the right to reject or require replacement of products that are not appropriate for the clinic environment.

6. Waste Handling

The contractor may handle regular garbage, recycling, clinical-adjacent waste, and other agreed waste streams as defined through the final agreement, site orientation, and applicable training.

The contractor must not move, open, empty, dispose of, or interfere with clinical specimens, vaccines, medications, test kits, confidential materials, or restricted clinical items unless expressly authorized by the Gilbert Centre and supported by appropriate training, PPE, and procedures.

If cleaning staff observe out-of-scope biomedical waste or other hazards outside the agreed scope, they must alter their work accordingly in the affected area and notify the Gilbert Centre contact immediately.

7. Confidentiality, Privacy, and Security

Cleaning staff will have unsupervised after-hours access to the clinic. As a result, confidentiality, privacy, and security are essential requirements of this contract.

The successful vendor and all assigned cleaning staff must:

Sign confidentiality documentation before beginning work;
Complete a mandatory orientation to the clinic space and site-specific expectations;
Access only areas approved by the Gilbert Centre;
Keep keys, fobs, alarm codes, and access information secure and confidential;
Immediately report any lost key, fob, access code, security incident, unlocked door, alarm issue, or suspected breach;
Ensure only approved and assigned staff attend the site;
Not bring unauthorized individuals to the clinic;
Not access, read, move, photograph, copy, disclose, or interfere with client records, confidential documents, computers, phones, files, medications, vaccines, specimens, test kits, clinical supplies, locked cabinets, or staff belongings;
Not take photographs, videos, or recordings inside the clinic unless expressly authorized in writing; and
Maintain confidentiality about all information observed or encountered while providing services.

The Gilbert Centre reserves the right to require replacement of assigned cleaning staff where there are reasonable concerns related to performance, safety, confidentiality, security, professionalism, or suitability for the clinic environment.

8. Contractor Requirements

Vendors must demonstrate or provide:

Experience providing cleaning services in health care, clinical, community health, social service, or similarly sensitive environments;
Valid WSIB clearance;
Commercial general liability insurance of at least $2 million, with the Gilbert Centre listed as an additional insured on a Certificate of Insurance before services begin;
Confirmation that staff are trained in WHMIS, safe cleaning practices, infection prevention and control practices, PPE, and safe waste handling;
Confirmation that staff assigned to the clinic are screened by the company before assignment;
Agreement that the Gilbert Centre may request additional background checks or screening where reasonable and related to the nature of the work;
Ability to provide consistent assigned staff wherever possible;
Ability to meet after-hours cleaning requirements;
Supervisory and quality assurance processes;
References from similar environments; and
Agreement to comply with all applicable occupational health and safety, employment, privacy, and other legal requirements.

Subcontracting is not permitted without prior written approval from the Gilbert Centre.

9. Supplies and Equipment

The successful contractor will be responsible for providing:

All cleaning supplies and disinfectants;
Cleaning equipment, including vacuums, mops, buckets, cloths, and related materials;
PPE for cleaning staff;
Garbage and recycling bags/liners, unless otherwise agreed; and
Any other supplies required to complete the agreed scope of work.

All products and equipment must be suitable for a health care or clinical environment and used according to manufacturer specifications.

Vendors should identify any supplies, equipment, storage space, utilities, or other supports they expect the Gilbert Centre to provide.

10. Cleaning Logs and Quality Assurance

The successful vendor must complete a cleaning log after each visit, including:

Date of service;
Time in and time out;
Name or initials of staff who completed the cleaning;
Areas cleaned;
Confirmation of key tasks completed;
Issues, hazards, deficiencies, access concerns, supply concerns, or incidents observed; and
Any follow-up required by the Gilbert Centre.

The Gilbert Centre may inspect the clinic after scheduled cleaning, request corrective action, and meet with the vendor to address service quality concerns. Repeated missed cleans, incomplete cleaning, confidentiality concerns, safety issues, security concerns, or failure to follow agreed procedures may result in termination of the contract.

11. Mandatory Site Visit

A site visit is mandatory before a vendor may be selected. Site visits will allow vendors to understand the clinic layout, cleaning requirements, security expectations, and clinical limitations of the work.

Site visit requests must be directed to: Kissayris M., Health Programs Manager (KissayrisM@GilbertCentre.ca).

Vendors must not contact other staff, board members, or clinic team members regarding this RFP unless directed by the primary contact.

12. Questions and Addenda

Questions about this RFP must be submitted in writing to the primary contact by the questions deadline listed above.

Where the Gilbert Centre determines that a response is relevant to all vendors, the response may be shared with all known interested vendors through an addendum or written clarification. The Gilbert Centre may amend, clarify, pause, extend, or cancel this RFP at any time.

13. Contract Term

The anticipated initial contract term is one year, with the option to renew based on performance, continued need, available budget, and mutual agreement.

The Gilbert Centre reserves the right to negotiate final terms with the selected vendor before entering into an agreement.

14. Pricing

Proposals must include clear pricing, including:

Monthly flat rate for the proposed routine cleaning schedule;
Annual total cost;
HST, if applicable;
Hourly rate or call-out rate for additional or urgent cleaning services;
Any minimum charges;
Any proposed annual increase or renewal pricing assumptions;
Any excluded costs; and
Any assumptions that affect pricing.

Cost effectiveness will be considered, but the Gilbert Centre will not select a vendor based on lowest price alone. Infection prevention and control approach, health care cleaning experience, reliability, security, confidentiality, and overall suitability for the clinic environment will be significant factors in the evaluation.

15. Proposal Submission Requirements

Proposals should provide enough information for the Gilbert Centre to assess the vendor’s suitability, experience, safety practices, and pricing. At minimum, proposals must include:

Company profile, relevant experience, and references from similar environments;
Proposed cleaning approach, including infection prevention and control practices, safe waste handling, proposed products/disinfectants, and ability to provide Safety Data Sheets;
Staffing approach, including supervision, staff continuity, screening, training, and after-hours security practices;
Confirmation of ability to meet the proposed schedule and complete the mandatory site visit;
Proof or confirmation of WSIB coverage and commercial general liability insurance;
Pricing as outlined in Section 14; and
Any assumptions, exclusions, or recommended changes to the proposed scope.

16. Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Criteria

Weight

Infection prevention and control approach, including suitability for a clinical environment

30%

Experience in health care, clinical, community health, social service, or similarly sensitive environments

20%

Security, confidentiality, staff screening, supervision, and reliability

20%

Cost effectiveness and pricing clarity

20%

References, responsiveness, and overall fit

10%

The Gilbert Centre may request clarification, conduct reference checks, require a site visit, interview shortlisted vendors, negotiate final terms, or decline to proceed with any proposal.

The Gilbert Centre is not obligated to accept the lowest-cost proposal or any proposal.

17. General Conditions

The Gilbert Centre reserves the right to:

Accept or reject any or all proposals;
Request clarification or additional information;
Verify references, insurance, WSIB status, experience, and other information provided;
Negotiate final terms with the selected vendor;
Modify, extend, pause, cancel, or reissue this RFP at any time;
Decline to award a contract; and
Award a contract based on best overall value and suitability for the clinic environment.

All proposal preparation costs are the responsibility of the vendor. Submission of a proposal does not create a contract or obligation on the part of the Gilbert Centre.

Gilbert Centre

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