David Lawson , CPO of Guy ’ s and St Thomas ’ NHS Foundation Trust , highlights the challenges and opportunities of healthcare procurement shared services
GUY ' S AND ST THOMAS ' NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
David Lawson , CPO of Guy ’ s and St Thomas ’ NHS Foundation Trust , highlights the challenges and opportunities of healthcare procurement shared services
The coronavirus pandemic took a struggling National Health Service ( NHS ) and imposed even further pressures on the organisation that was already stretched to its limits . One important lesson that COVID-19 taught us is that supply chain resilience is critical to maintaining services . The procurement shared service team played a key role to ensure the Trust maintained supply and supported other hospitals across the region , from setting up a 3D Print Farm and air freighting PPE from China to providing over one million items as mutual aid to over 40 healthcare organisations .
The organisation ’ s procurement team , comprised of around 200 employees , is responsible for sourcing , systems , and supply chain operations across four NHS Trusts with responsibility for over £ 500mn direct spend .
With just over 20 years at the organisation , David Lawson , Chief Procurement Officer at the Trust divulged the developments in the organisation ’ s procurement strategy throughout the pandemic and his team ’ s contribution to procurement programmes and initiatives .
Leading procurement strategy to streamline healthcare Over the past few years , Guy ’ s and St Thomas ’ has worked to transform procurement and supply chain from
72 May 2022