Tender: National Centre for Child Health Technology -Test Bed, Gait Lab and Audio Visual

About

Background Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust is a national centre of excellence for child health, combining acute, mental health and community services with leading-edge paediatric specialisms. As a dedicated NHS children's Trust, Sheffield Children's delivers world-class care for some of the most complex and rare conditions in the country, while supporting children's everyday health needs across our region. Our specialist teams work at the cutting edge of paediatric care, from intensive care and cancer to orthopaedics, sleep, genetics and respiratory health, and our research partnerships extend our impact far beyond our catchment. With the National Centre for Child Health Technology, we are helping to shape the future of children's healthcare. We welcome collaboration with those who share our commitment to excellence, equity and innovation. The NHS Long Term Plan, for the first time, explicitly recognises the need for greater investment and focus on children and young people. It sets out an approach that highlights the importance of technology in the future NHS; emphasising the critical priorities that will support digital transformation and provide a step change in the way the NHS delivers care. The NCCHT will be a critical part of this transformation in Sheffield. The £24.2m purpose built, world leading, research and technology centre sited at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park in Attercliffe will radically transform healthcare delivery in the future. The NCCHT will act as a beacon of excellence for the NHS in developing new healthcare technologies for children. Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies and modern facilities the building will be designed to provide the highest quality care for children and young people locally and nationally. Bringing together world leading experts from across academia, healthcare, industry and technology Sheffield Children's aims to be the cornerstone of world leading research and care development for children and young people. Housing cutting-edge researchers and equipment we hope to drive medical advancement and breakthroughs at pace. Collaboration spaces in the building will encourage partnerships between clinicians, researchers, academic institutions and innovators across the health technology sector - accelerating the creation of technology solutions for healthcare treatment and research. The centre is due to complete construction in June 2026. We are now looking for an Audio-Visual partner to design and install a range solutions into different parts of the National Centre for Child Health Technology. This specification covers four key areas: - The Testbed Centre - The Gait & Motion Lab - Meeting Rooms - Digital Signage The Testbed Centre The Testbed Centre will be on the second floor of the NCCHT, and provide a space for researchers and companies to test their products with children, families and clinicians in near-real world environments. The Centre has a range of settings simulating hospital and home environments - a two bedded paediatric hospital ward; three consultation rooms (fitted out as physical health outpatient consultation room; and 2x psychology/therapy consult rooms); a virtual home (fitted out as a kitchen; lounge; bedroom) and a flexible simulation space that can be subdivided into two rooms (with a partition sensor). A control room will act as the hub to manage camera feeds and direct scenarios. A large store room will allow for spaces to be set up differently depending on their needs - e.g. beds or cots, or to store equipment between users. Each setting could be used by different visiting users who will hire the use of the space on a sessional basis, with up to four scenarios being ran concurrently. Within the centre, one of the roles "Centre Operations Manager - Testbed & Events", will manage the equipment and provide support to users. The Gait & Motion Lab The Gait & Motion laboratory will be on the first floor of the NCCHT, and will be a high specification over ground laboratory for analysing and motion of children and young people. There will be a 21m 'run way' of which motion can be analysed with a range of cameras and sensors to capture data. There will be force plates set within the floor and two 3600 camera rigs at ceiling height capturing 3d models of how the child is walking. These will use both marker-based and marker-less technology. In addition to these camera systems, a more conventional camera system is to be procured which provides video clips of the child in motion. The lab can has a partition door and can be divided into the main lab and a mini lab, to be able to operate independently or as a combined single lab. Meeting Rooms There are a number of differently proportioned meeting rooms and spaces throughout the building that will require a modern AV system to allow for fully in person meetings and hybrid meetings. Digital Signage Large displays in public areas are to be utilised for a mixture of public messaging via the Trust's existing Digital Signage platform and Outpatient Patient Call platform. Two of these displays are external in the courtyard with the remainder internally. Information to bidders: - Any appendices referred to in the requirements sections in the Atamis Portal are available on request. - Use of Brand Names and Equivalence Where a manufacturer, brand, model or specific product is referenced within this specification, this is for the purposes of describing the Authority’s minimum functional, performance, interoperability and compliance requirements only. Such references shall not be interpreted as favouring or requiring any specific manufacturer or supplier. The Authority will accept equivalent products, systems or solutions that demonstrably meet or exceed the stated requirements. Suppliers proposing an equivalent must clearly identify the proposed alternative and provide sufficient technical information to demonstrate equivalence against the stated requirements. The Authority reserves the right to verify equivalence as part of the evaluation process.