The NHS is desperate to make savings – without affecting quality - through better procurement. Lord Carter’s productivity review of acute hospitals highlighted the potential for substantial savings through improved procurement and there has been considerable central pressure on NHS organisations to get to grips with this and start making savings.
Better procurement is not just about the money. Many who work in the area recognise that even if the spend is the same, improved procurement may offer better value for money by buying better goods or services for the same price or buying a produce whose lifetime costs are lower or value is greater.
Procurement support services can help, and this award will go to one which is delivering tangible improvements through a service, technology or consultancy project. These improvements may be to cost or quality and safety for patients – or both. The support or service will have helped deliver something which the NHS trust could not have done on its own.
Eligibility
- Entrants will be a business which has delivered substantial value through improved procurement processes working in partnership with an NHS organisation
- Judges are looking for single projects with specific NHS bodies who can demonstrate positive and joint working with results delivered in the past two years up until the awards entry deadline
- Projects could be related to transforming procurement services, spend management services or technology or supply chain management