In XR News
What’s the story?
NHS Supply Chain has published a tender notice for its planned Medical Simulation and Technologies Framework, inviting suppliers to tender for one or several of five lots.
Why it matters
NHS Supply Chain’s framework encompasses realistic manikins and procedural trainers through to VR, XR, and MR environments and software for designing and analyzing simulation training.
The bigger picture
With a possible extension to May 11, 2031, the framework could cover four years of simulation purchasing across its five lots, from patient simulators to immersive technology and software.
August 19, 2026 – NHS Supply Chain has recently published a tender notice for its planned Medical Simulation and Technologies Framework, inviting suppliers to tender for one or several of five lots, one of which covers virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies. It follows the pipeline notice reported in February, which described a two-lot structure.
NHS Supply Chain manages the sourcing, delivery, and supply of healthcare products, services, and food for National Health Service (NHS) trusts and healthcare organizations across England and Wales.
Scope of Work
According to NHS Supply Chain, the five lots with estimated values excluding value added tax (VAT) are:
- Lot 1, Human Patient Simulators (GBP £62 million): This lot covers full-body manikins that simulate human patients, ranging from basic CPR models to advanced high-fidelity simulators. Use cases include training clinical assessment, decision making, and multidisciplinary team responses in realistic scenarios without risk to patients.
- Lot 2, Task Trainers (£36 million): This lot covers specialized training devices for practicing specific clinical skills (e.g., cannulation, suturing, airway management). These trainers focus on repetitive skill development with realistic anatomy and feedback to support competency assessment.
- Lot 3, Surgical and Procedural Trainers (£52 million): This lot comprises simulators for advanced procedural and surgical training (e.g., laparoscopic, robotic, or interventional procedures). These systems replicate anatomy and clinical environments to enable hands-on practice, performance measurement, and procedural competency development.
- Lot 4, Immersive Technology/Virtual Clinical environments and Recording (£40 million): This lot includes VR/XR/MR technologies, virtual environments, and recording solutions that deliver scenario-based training, and support team training, decision making, and debriefing through playback and analysis tools.
- Lot 5, Performance Recording Systems & Software (£20 million): This lot covers software for designing, delivering, and analyzing simulation training, including performance tracking, reporting, data analytics, and potentially artificial intelligence (AI) driven insights, without supplying physical hardware.
NHS Supply Chain also noted that framework lot values may be shared with other lots.
Under the framework terms in the notice, the maximum number of suppliers is unlimited and the maximum percentage fee charged to suppliers is 0% (under some framework agreements, suppliers pay a percentage fee to the contracting authority). The award method when a buyer uses the framework to place an order is “with competition.” The tender notice stated that contracting authorities that may use the framework are: any NHS Trust; any other NHS entity; any government department, agency or other statutory body, including local authorities; universities; charities; and any private sector entity active in the United Kingdom healthcare sector.
Key Dates and Submission
The inquiry deadline is September 21, 2026, and the tender submission deadline is September 28, 2026, both at 3 p.m. (GMT+1). The estimated award decision date is March 5, 2027.
The Framework Agreement will have a term of 24 months with the option to extend for an additional 24 months, bringing the total potential contract length to 4 years. Estimated contract dates are from May 10, 2027 to May 11, 2029, with a possible extension to May 11, 2031.
Framework Terms and Estimated Value
Purchases under the framework are estimated at around £72 million in the first 12 months, according to the notice. For the full 48-month term, the anticipated value is around £210 million excluding VAT. NHS Supply Chain stated: “These values are approximate only and are based on the most recent historical usage information, with a forecasted level of usage. The values provided are for guidance only and are not a guarantee of business with successful Tenderers.”
For more information on how to engage with this opportunity, please reach out to contact@auganix.org.
Editor’s note: Tender and contract notices can be confusing, so a word on what a framework agreement actually is. The framework mentioned above refers to an approved list of suppliers, and this tender is to decide who gets onto it. Simply being on the framework does not commit the NHS to spending and earns a supplier nothing. Money moves only when a buyer, such as an NHS trust (or one of the other bodies named above), places an order through the framework. Each order is awarded “with competition,” meaning suppliers on the framework compete for that particular order. The £72 million and £210 million quoted in this article are NHS Supply Chain’s forecasts of possible orders through the framework, not a budget or a commitment.
For updates on this NHS Supply Chain framework ahead of the estimated March 2027 award decision and May 2027 start, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Image credit: NHS Supply Chain
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About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix, where he has spent years immersed in the XR ecosystem, tracking its evolution from early prototypes to the technologies shaping the future of human experience. While primarily covering the latest AR and VR news, his interests extend to the wider world of human augmentation, from AI and robotics to haptics, wearables, and brain–computer interfaces.