Two local health trusts, have been accredited by NHS Procurement for improving their approach to buying supplies, services and equipment.
Procurement teams from both Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals and Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust have been awarded level one in NHS Procurement and Commercial Standards. The accreditation recognises that both organisations have the ‘awareness and building blocks in place’ to achieving the highest standards of procurement and get the best deal for the local NHS.
Hospital procurement departments are responsible for managing purchasing activity, negotiating pricing for essential items and planning what the organisation will need in the future, in order to continue delivering high quality care as efficiently as possible.
Andrea Smith, Procurement Director at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, said: “This achievement recognises the great work achieved at both trusts. This is a team effort and testament to the hard work and dedication of all staff involved in getting the best deal for the health service.”
Both organisations are part of the Working Together Partnership, comprising of seven hospital trusts South Yorkshire, Mid Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. By working together as large and influential health care providers, trusts can command larger discounts than would be available if working alone.
Paul Ralston, Head of Procurement, at Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are delighted to achieve this accreditation. By working in partnership, goods and services can be bought cheaper, with discounts that would be otherwise unavailable if working singularly, representing the best value for the communities we serve and beyond.”
Both organisations are part of the Working Together Partnership Vanguard, comprising the six hospital trusts in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire. By working together as large and influential health care providers, trusts can command larger discounts than would be available if working alone.
All trusts have been given a target to achieve the level one accreditation from NHS Procurement by March 2018 as part of the vision set out in the Operational Productivity and Performance in English NHS Acute Hospitals report written by Lord Carter. The four remaining Working Together Trusts from the procurement workstream – Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust remain on track to also achieve Level 1 well in advance of the Lord Carter target.