“ Our aim is very much to look for opportunities to innovate and scale it up across the shared service ”
DAVID LAWSON CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER , GUY ’ S AND ST THOMAS ’ NHS FOUNDATION TRUST
The procurement team also recently led the £ 10bn Increasing Capacity Framework Agreement on behalf of NHS England to support reducing the current backlog of elective activity by making available independent sector capacity to the NHS . The new framework agreement replaced a capacity model in which block contracts were agreed upon with the main independent sector providers irrespective of whether the capacity was used or not . The framework was set up in under 12 weeks with over 100 providers listed .
“ While the rest of the NHS was tied up with treating COVID patients , the challenge for the NHS was to try and get to a point of business as usual , in order to avoid or mitigate a growing backlog of elective cases . To secure funding from the treasury , there was a need to move away from direct awards and the previous capacity model to demonstrate value for money ,” Lawson says .
“ So , I was asked to support NHS England setup . A new national framework where independent sector providers bid against all procedures that are available on the national tariff ,” Lawson says . “ My role was to set up the procurement strategy and work out a timetable to deliver the framework within quite a short period of time — within about 12 weeks — and make that ready for the new calendar year in January when the existing block contracts were due to expire .”
SmartTogether transforms the NHS with access to procurement and supply chain expertise When it comes to procurement in the NHS , the siloed nature of its operations has presented weaknesses over the years due to the lack of scale and investment . Five years ago , the SmartTogether shared service was established to scale up both procurement and supply chain capacity and capability . “ It was very much formed on the back of the hospitals , around us asking for help
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