United Kingdom-CHESTER: Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS) VR Platform Licenses

Type of document: Contract Notice
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Ref: (2022/S 000-007413/EN)
Nature of contract: Supply contract
Procedure: Negotiated without a call for competition
Type of bid required: Not applicable

Voluntary ex ante transparency notice
Supplies

Section I: Contracting authority
I.1) Name and addresses
Official name: UNIVERSITY OF CHESTER
Postal address: PARKGATE ROAD
Town: CHESTER
Postal code: CH1 4BJ
Country: United Kingdom
Contact Person: Procurement Services
Telephone: +44 1244512395
Email: Procurement@chester.ac.uk
Internet address(es):
Main address: www.chester.ac.uk

I.4) Type of the contracting authority
Body governed by public law
I.5) Main activity
Education

Section II: Object
II.1) Scope of the procurement
II.1.1) Title: Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS) VR Platform Licenses

Reference number: 2022-Mar-V-01
II.1.2) Main CPV code: 48100000
II.1.3) Type of contract Supplies
II.1.4) Short Description:
The University of Chester has been awarded funding from Health Education England for the OMS VR Platform for 5 years.
II.1.6) Information about lots
The contract is divided into lots: no
II.1.7) Total value of the procurement(excluding VAT)
Value:530000
Currency:GBP
II.2) Description
II.2.3) Place of performance
Nuts code:
II.2.4) Description of the procurement
The University of Chester has been awarded grant funding from Health Education England (“HEE”) for the OMS VR Platform for 5 years. Using the OMS platform clinicians have the opportunity to manage patients in a safe and secure learning environment, learning from their experiences to optimise decision-making, critical thinking and clinical reasoning. This evidence-based approach aligns with NHS policies and procedures to improve the confidence and competence of medical students and practitioners.
Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology and, in medical education, is in its infancy. Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS) have created a medical education and training platform that delivers learning using unique, engaging, immersive and interactive methods. It is specifically designed to translate theory to practice to influence patient care.
OMS are named in the HEE grant agreement.

II.2.5) Award criteria
II.2.11) Information about options
Options:yes
Description of options:
The contract can be extended following the agreement of both parties

II.2.13) Information about European Union funds
The procurement is related to a project and/or programme financed by European Union funds: no
II.2.14) Additional information:
The University intends to contract with OMS for a 5 year period and is publishing its intention in this regard via this VEAT notice to maximise transparency and to confirm the process to be followed.

Section IV: Procedure
IV.1) Description
IV.1.1) Type of procedure
Negotiated procedure without prior publication(in accordance with Article 32 of Directive 2014/24/EU)
IV.1.8) Information about the Government Procurement Agreement(GPA)
The procurement is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement: yes
IV.2) Administrative information

Section V: Award of contract/concession
Contract No: 2022-Mar-V-01
V.2) Award of contract/concession
V.2.1) Date of conclusion of the contract/concession award decision:2022-03-15
V.2.2) Information about tenders
V.2.3) Name and address of the contractor
Official name: Oxford Medical Simulation
Postal address: 201 Borough High Street
Town: London
Postal code: SE1 1JA
Country: United Kingdom
Nuts code:
The contractor is an SME: yes

V.2.4) Information on value of the contract/lot/concession(excluding VAT)
for framework agreements – total maximum value for this lot
for contracts based on framework agreements, if required – value of contract(s) for this lot not included in
previous contract award notices

Section VI: Complementary informationVI.4) Procedures for review
VI.4.1) Review body
Official name: University of Chester
Town: Chester
Country: United Kingdom

VI.5) Date of dispatch of this notice:
2022-03-18

Justification for the award of the contract without prior publication of a call for
competition in the Official Journal of the European Union
1.Justification for the choice of the negotiated procedure without prior publication of a call for competition in accordance with Article
32 of Directive 2014/24/EU
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator for the following reason:
protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights
Extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable for the contracting authority and in accordance with the strict conditions stated in the
directive

3.Explanation
Please explain in a clear and comprehensive manner why the award of the contract without prior publication in the Official Journal of the European Union
is lawful, by stating the relevant facts and, as appropriate, the conclusions of law in accordance with the directive:
Grant funding for this contract has been provided by HEE which has strict conditions with regards to:
– timelines by which the funding provided has to be spent. This requires full utilisation of the investment by 31st March 2022.
– Compliance with the terms of the grant funding; including sums to be spent with named suppliers.
Any delay in awarding this contract would risk HEE withdrawing funding from University of Chester. Failure to adhere to the grant funding terms would also entail clawback.
Virtual reality is an emerging immersive technology in medical training. OMS has been created by clinicians for clinicians. The platform provides training to healthcare professionals in a unique and interactive way allowing learners to practice and learn from their mistakes ina way that is safe and supported.
The OMS Platform has been trialed by several other HEE regions and is now being adopted more widely as an everyday teaching tool. Additionally, OMS was selected as one of only 12 companies to be part of the NHS Innovation Accelerator in 2021, after undergoing a rigorous evaluation process. This initiative supports high-impact, evidence-based innovations to scale within the NHS – which provides a further level of evaluation.
Health Education England detailed the Oxford Medical Simulation platform in their grant confirmation of funding letter issued to the University of Chester on 9th March 2022, creating an exclusive right.
As a result, University of Chester believes that Public. Contracts Regulations 2015, Regulation 32(2) applies.
Regulation 32(2) states:
“The negotiated procedures without prior publication may be used for public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts in any of the following cases:-
(b) where the works, supplies or services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator for any of the following reasons:-
(ii) competition is absent for technical reasons,
(iii) the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights,
(c) insofar as is strictly necessary where, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting authority, the time limits for the open or restricted
procedures or competitive procedures with negotiation cannot be complied with.”