Fit-Testing Solutions - Early Market Engagement

For this engagement, DHSC will be holding three roundtable discussions, scheduled for: • Tuesday 24 February 2026, 10am-12pm • Wednesday 25 February 2026, 11am-1pm • Thursday 26 February 2026, 1pm-3pm The roundtables will discuss: • the current status and problems with fit testing within the health and adult social care sector, • the solutions that exist within industry or elsewhere to effectively fit test, and • the potential development of a technological solution, such as a solution involving digital or AI tools, to improve access to fit testing within health and social care. DHSC is keen to hear your ideas and feedback, particularly on the feasibility of innovative solutions, the practicalities, and the potential for procuring services/products. We want this to be an open discussion, allowing you to tell us what the potential solutions are. Please register your interest for a roundtable using this form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=MIwnYaiRMUyMH-9N6Jc6HOQJJ-YaKaRHkRg1bw3qXlZUQldUQjJWNUhFNTM3VTJaSEw0VklTQTgxMS4u The deadline to register interest is 11:59 pm on Tuesday 17 February 2026. DHSC welcomes interest from: • Adult social care providers • NHS organisations (primary, secondary, community, and social care) • Local authorities • Manufacturers or sole distributors of respirators, especially FFP3 masks • Manufacturers or sole distributors of quantitative fit testing machines • Manufacturers or sole distributors of qualitative fit testing kits • Fit testing providers, trainers, or individual fit testers • Relevant industry bodies and trade associations • Regulatory or accreditation bodies • Other users of respirators and fit testing services • Solution designers (including digital/AI innovators) DHSC may adjust the number or timing of roundtables depending on demand. If interest exceeds capacity (25 participants per roundtable), DHSC may not be able to invite all eligible stakeholders. In this case, DHSC will select roundtable participants based on the below criteria: • Ensuring a balanced mix of stakeholder groups for each roundtable • Ensuring a balanced representation across regions. Alongside this, all stakeholders are encouraged to complete an accompanying survey. All stakeholders are invited to complete this survey, regardless of whether they are attending a roundtable. All individual responses will be kept confidential within DHSC and used solely to gather insights on challenges and potential solutions in fit-testing capacity. Only aggregated and anonymised insights may be shared wider. Complete the survey here: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=MIwnYaiRMUyMH-9N6Jc6HD5FeWMrqfNMlI-J0y-poM1UM0k4NVIzMExSMFo2NzFPNk1PS0FXUVRTOS4u Survey deadline: 11:59 pm, Monday 2 March 2026 (This engagement is neither a procurement exercise nor a call for competition. DHSC does not commit to any specific action at this stage. The roundtables and survey are for information gathering only. Further engagement may follow as required.) For any questions about this opportunity, please contact fit-testing@dhsc.gov.uk.