We’re delighted to announce that SocialOptic has been appointed as a supplier on NHS Shared Business Services’ Patient/Citizen Communication, Engagement and Hybrid Mail Solutions Framework Agreement for Lot 5 – Patient/Citizen Experience (including Friends and Family Test), supporting patients and the NHS with feedback collection, survey delivery and advanced analysis at scale.
What the framework is about
NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) launched the framework in February 2026 to help the NHS and wider public sector modernise how they communicate with patients, citizens and service users. The framework runs until February 2030 and provides a compliant, efficient procurement route for organisations looking to improve engagement, reduce missed appointments and deliver more accessible, personalised communications.
The framework spans seven lots, covering everything from digital communications and messaging to voice services, hybrid mail and patient experience. Lot 5, where SocialOptic has been appointed, is specifically focused on patient and citizen experience — including the provision of surveys, feedback analysis and data collection, and encompassing the NHS Friends and Family Test (FFT).
As NHS SBS puts it:
“The Patient/Citizen Communication, Engagement and Hybrid Mail Solutions Framework Agreement represents a step forward in supporting NHS Trusts and the wider public sector to improve communication with patients and citizens. It enables organisations to deliver timely, personalised, and accessible communications that empower citizens and improve operational efficiency and support reducing did not attend (DNA) rates.”
With missed appointments estimated to cost the NHS around £1.2 billion each year, the case for effective patient communication and feedback has never been stronger.
Why this matters
If you work in healthcare, you’ll know that patient feedback is one of those things that everyone agrees is important but that can be surprisingly difficult to do well — particularly at scale. The Friends and Family Test alone generates vast volumes of responses across NHS trusts, and the real value lies not just in collecting that feedback but in understanding what it’s telling you, quickly and clearly enough to act on it.
That’s where SurveyOptic comes in. Our platform is designed specifically for managing the full feedback lifecycle — from survey design and multi-channel distribution, through to real-time analysis and reporting. It’s been built to handle the kind of scale that NHS trusts need: tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of responses, with the analytical depth to surface meaningful patterns and trends, not just top-line numbers.
We bring experience in working with healthcare, education, government and regulated industries, and our platform is already trusted by the Department of Health and Social Care, the MHRA and a range of other public sector bodies for sensitive, large-scale data collection. We hold ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO 9001:2015 certifications, along with Cyber Essentials Plus — standards that matter when you’re handling patient feedback and experience data.
A compliant route to better patient experience
For NHS trusts and other public sector organisations, frameworks like this one are a practical and efficient way to procure the tools and expertise you need. The NHS SBS framework means that suppliers have been fully vetted, terms are pre-negotiated, and the procurement process is significantly simplified. If you’ve worked with us through G-Cloud — where SocialOptic has been an approved supplier for eight consecutive waves since 2015 — the principle is very similar: reducing the effort and risk involved in getting started, so that we can focus on what actually matters — delivering better outcomes for patients and the teams who serve them.
Organisations can use the framework to directly award or run a further competition, giving flexibility to find the right fit for their needs.
Get in touch
If you’re an NHS trust, GP practice, or wider public sector organisation looking to improve your patient experience programme, deliver the Friends and Family Test more effectively, or simply make better use of the feedback you’re already collecting, we’d love to talk.
The framework provides a straightforward route to working with us, and our team is happy to walk you through what’s involved. You can arrange a demo, contact our team, or simply use the chat button below.
We’re genuinely excited about this appointment and the opportunity to support more NHS organisations in turning patient feedback into meaningful, strategic insight.
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