Clear CSO pricing
before procurement pressure.
Transparent pricing for NHS digital health suppliers: £6,000 fixed-fee DCB 0129 clinical safety case package, £125/hour review and ad hoc work, and supplier-side named CSO retainer from £800/month.
What does this cost?
The core pre-go-live DCB 0129 engagement is £6,000 fixed fee. That price is for a defined safety case package, not an open-ended consultancy day rate. The target is four weeks from an agreed kickoff, subject to evidence readiness, team availability and resolution of safety actions. Sign-off depends on acceptable residual risk.
Review, change, incident and other ad hoc work is £125/hour. If your existing DCB 0129 evidence is substantially complete, a safety case review or CSO handover is usually 6–10 hours: start with a two-hour £250 review, then receive a capped estimate for the remaining work.
Named CSO retainers start from £800/month and include up to three hours of routine CSO work each month for suitable stable or low-change products. Additional work is £125/hour; higher-change products are scoped separately.
Four clear routes.
The fixed fee covers the agreed pre-go-live deliverables and revision limits. Ongoing support and additional scope are priced separately.
Clinical Safety Case Report, Clinical Risk Management File, hazard log, safety requirements specification, written monitoring plan and CSO review. Sign-off is conditional on the evidence. The four-week target includes up to three meetings and two rounds of revisions, subject to evidence readiness and resolution of safety actions.
Best for suppliers preparing for NHS pilot, DTAC, procurement or go-live review.Safety reviews after launch, incident reviews, hazard log updates, sign-off of major product changes or newly identified hazards, DTAC/DSPT cross-walks and recurring governance meetings.
Hours logged transparently and billed monthly.Supplier-side named CSO support including up to three hours of routine CSO work each month for suitable stable or low-change products.
Additional work £125/hour. Higher-change products are scoped separately.Review, repair or handover where your DCB 0129 evidence is substantially complete. This route typically takes 6–10 hours.
Start with a two-hour £250 review, then receive a capped estimate for the remaining work.What the £6,000 fixed fee covers.
What is priced separately.
These items can be important, but they are not part of the fixed pre-go-live package.
Running surveillance
Operating the post-market surveillance process, recurring reviews, incident handling and post-launch hazard log maintenance.
Major change sign-off
Reviewing new features, newly identified hazards, new settings, integration changes or risk-impacting workflow changes.
Regulatory and data work
UKCA/MDR work, ISO 13485, cyber assurance, data protection, legal advice and standing as the deploying organisation's DCB 0160 CSO.
Because timing matters.
If DCB 0129 appears late in procurement, the cost of delay is often larger than the cost of the safety case. Publishing the price lets founders and product leads budget before a trust pilot or DTAC review becomes time-critical.
The first question is still fit. I will not sign a safety case just because a supplier can pay the fee. The product scope, intended use, controls and residual risk have to be clinically defensible.
Send scope before booking.
If you are comparing CSO costs, send the product context first. I will tell you whether the fixed package fits, whether an existing-case handover or retainer is better, or whether you need a different kind of regulatory support. If you are still choosing the route, read how to hire a Clinical Safety Officer.