Ascom has secured one of two major framework agreements with Helse Sør-Øst, covering clinical communication and safety systems for hospital upgrades and new construction across Norway’s largest health region.
A route into multiple hospital projects
The agreement gives Helse Sør-Øst a standardised route for deploying clinical communication solutions across multiple hospital projects. Rather than describing a single installation, the arrangement covers the upgrading of existing hospitals and new construction as part of the regional authority’s wider infrastructure modernisation. Its estimated value is CHF 80 million over seven years. For suppliers, the significance of a framework is that selection can create an opportunity to support several defined projects within the agreement’s scope. The source says Ascom can participate in future modernisation phases through tendering, indicating that later project work remains subject to procurement activity rather than being guaranteed by the framework itself.
Systems aimed at safety and response times
The solutions covered by the agreement include integrated nurse call, critical alarm and personal safety systems. Helse Sør-Øst and Ascom say these systems are intended to improve patient safety, accelerate response times and streamline workflows, while also supporting working conditions for medical staff. The systems are designed to integrate with existing clinical and technical infrastructure, an important feature in a programme involving both operating hospitals and new buildings. The procurement therefore concerns more than individual devices: it brings communications and safety functions into a standardised platform that can be used across different hospital environments.
A significant buyer with a regional remit
Helse Sør-Øst is owned by Norway’s Ministry of Health and Care Services and is the country’s largest healthcare organisation. It has more than 85,000 employees across 30 hospitals and 70 locations, serving approximately 57% of Norway’s population. That scale helps explain why a framework for communications and safety infrastructure can extend across several projects and attract a major supplier. Ascom said its experience in Norwegian hospitals and local presence position it to support the authority from planning through to delivery. The company also said the agreement could expand its installed base and recurring revenue from software, services, maintenance and upgrades.
Early awards point to active hospital development
The framework follows other procurement activity in Norway’s hospital estate. In 2026, Ascom secured tenders for major hospital developments at the new Aker Hospital and the new Rikshospitalet in Oslo. It was awarded contracts for patient signal and staff safety solutions at both hospitals, with project execution commencing in the second quarter of 2026. Those awards are separate from the framework agreement but show how a regional modernisation programme can contain project-specific tenders alongside a broader purchasing arrangement. Ascom chief executive David Hale described the deal as evidence of a market trend towards standardised platforms and long-term delivery partners.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Buyer | Helse Sør-Øst, Norway’s largest regional health authority |
| Framework position | Ascom secured one of two major framework agreements |
| Estimated value | CHF 80 million over seven years |
| Organisation scale | More than 85,000 employees across 30 hospitals and 70 locations |
| Population served | Approximately 57% of Norway’s population |
| Covered systems | Nurse call, critical alarm and personal safety systems |
| Named hospital projects | New Aker Hospital and new Rikshospitalet in Oslo |
The framework agreement enables HSØ to deploy standardized, advanced clinical communication solutions across multiple hospital projects.
WHY IT MATTERS
The agreement illustrates how a public buyer can use a framework to standardise a type of infrastructure across several hospital projects while retaining tendering for future modernisation phases. For suppliers, a framework may provide access to a wider programme, but individual project opportunities and later phases can still involve further procurement.
Reported from financialpost.com, 2026-09-08. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
