Award

Ask AI about this notice

Summarise, research or assess it with AI

View Markdown

Share this notice

Send this contract to a colleague

Peel Role Play

University of Kent

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

21 Jul 2026 at 10:20

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

21 Jul 2026 at 10:02

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of Kent, through Kent and Medway Medical School, procured simulated or standardised patient services for the safe clinical training of medical students. The service provides people who act as patients in teaching and assessment, enabling students to practise and demonstrate clinical and communication skills in a controlled environment. These activities support competencies recognised by the General Medical Council. The requirement is a specialist education and training service rather than general medical staffing. Delivery is in the United Kingdom, with the procurement indicating that local provision in Kent was considered against the required volume, delivery structure, expertise and experience. The buyer is the University of Kent, based in Canterbury, and the service supports the medical school’s established training processes.

The procurement is complete and was awarded on 20 July 2026 to PEEL ROLEPLAY LIMITED for the single lot. It used a direct award procedure. The stated rationale was that the existing supplier’s service was being extended or partially replaced, and that changing supplier would create incompatible services or disproportionate technical difficulties; the procurement also records that no reasonable alternative supplier or service was available for the requirement. The award value is £376,700 excluding VAT, or £452,040 including VAT. The awarded contract period runs from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2031. A signature milestone was scheduled for 1 August 2026. The award was above the relevant threshold and classified as services, with training services as the stated classification.

This outcome indicates demand for a specialist provider able to recruit, brief, schedule and manage simulated patients for medical education at sustained volume. A credible competitor would need to supply consistent standardised experiences across both teaching and assessment, support clinical and communication skills training, and work reliably within a medical school’s established processes. Flexibility and responsiveness are important because sessions must fit the buyer’s operational requirements, while dependable delivery is central to safe student practice. Relevant experience in medical schools or comparable healthcare education, a strong quality record and the capacity to provide national or locally coordinated coverage would strengthen a future proposition. Suppliers should also be able to demonstrate sufficient expertise and organisational continuity to replace an established service without disrupting training.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Peel Role Play

Notice Description

KMMS requires the services of an agency to provide 'simulated patients'/'standardised patients' (SP) for safe clinical training of medical students. Simulated Patients (SP) are involved in both the teaching and assessment of medical students' clinical and communication skills in all medical schools in the UK. These skills are recognised by the General Medical Council (GMC) as 'core competencies' as described in the 'Outcomes for Graduates' (2018) document. SPs form an integral and essential element of skill development, as it provides a standardized experience for students to practise and demonstrate their skills in a safe environment. Peel Roleplay is an established provider and has a national reputation for delivering a high quality, reliable and flexible service. We have built up a very strong and productive relationship with Peel over the past 6 years and they have been very responsive to our needs, have been extremely reliable and now know our established processes. Local provision of SPs was also explored, and no comparable service is currently available in Kent at the required volume / delivery structure/ level of expertise and experience.

Procurement Information

The public contract concerns the creation or acquisition of a unique work of art or artistic performance. In paragraph 2, "novel goods or services" means goods or services designed or developed at the request of the contracting authority. The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract- (a)due to a particular supplier having intellectual property rights or other exclusive rights, only that supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b)there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works. The public contract concerns the supply of goods, services or works by the existing supplier which are intended as an extension to, or partial replacement of, existing goods, services or works in circumstances where- (a)a change in supplier would result in the contracting authority receiving goods, services or works that are different from, or incompatible with, the existing goods, services or works, and (b)the difference or incompatibility would result in disproportionate technical difficulties in operation or maintenance.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06cf82
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/068563-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
SME

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

80 - Education and training services

CPV Codes

80500000 - Training services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£376,700 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
21 Jul 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
20 Jul 20262 months ago
Contract Period
1 Aug 2026 - 31 Jul 2031 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Active
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
University of Kent
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
CANTERBURY
Postcode
CT2 7NZ
Postcode Area
Canterbury
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLJ South East (England)
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLJ4 Kent
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLJ44 East Kent
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Canterbury
Electoral Ward
Blean Forest
Westminster Constituency
Canterbury

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

Peel Roleplay

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

JSON Markdown

The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

Loading OCDS record...