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Procurement Services Customer Newsletter Autumn 2017

Procurement Services Customer NewsletterAutumn 2017

In this issueSustainability Website Revamp

NPS Fresh Foods Framework Award

How are Procurement Services addressing the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations Act?


Welcome Director of Procurement Services Mark Roscrow

Thank you for reading our newsletterIf you would like further information on any of thearticles contained within this newsletter or would liketo submit an article for the next edition please contact:[email protected]

We are now on Twitter! Follow Us @nwssp

Welcome to the latest publication of the Customer Newsletter.

It’s been a busy few months which as normal has seen lots of activity. One major achievement has been the publication of our Procurement Strategy for the next five years. This has been developed in partnership with our Customers and was signed off by Directors of Finance at the September meeting.

In creating the Strategy, it was interesting to note the number of issues for which Procurement is seen as part of the answer with everything from community benefits through to modern slavery. As new contracts are established these factors will become increasingly important and require appropriate consideration.

Alongside this we have been reviewing our terms and conditions of contract and our internal processes. Not the most exciting piece of work in the World but critically important, particularly when something goes wrong!

I am as ever grateful to all our customers who work alongside us on various groups and this remains an important part of our work. The importance of Procurement in support of the wider NHS agenda continues to develop and as a member of the Welsh Government Efficiency Group chaired by Andrew Goodall I am particularly pleased that this forum is increasingly discussing key procurement issues and providing support for some of the outcomes we are trying to achieve.

I hope you find the newsletter informative and as ever any feedback will be appreciated.

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As the lead Directors of Finance and Procurement across NHS Wales Health Boards and Trusts, Directors of Finance, Assistant Directors of Finance and Heads of Service within NWSSP Procurement Services have come together to deliver a 5 year strategy for Procurement across NHS Wales.

With challenging financial times ahead for NHS Wales and austerity throughout the community, we have a responsibility to work together and strive to Deliver Value for Wales.

Our strategy sets out our collective vision and goals to improve health outcomes for the patients and community in Wales by working in partnership with our customers, suppliers and staff members.

“

“ - Eifion WilliamsDirector of Finance, Powys Health Board

- Mark RoscrowDirector of Procurement Services, NWSSP

Procurement is transforming the way purchasing, supply and value are delivered to our patients in Wales - our strategy will deliver:

CUSTOMER: > Health will be better for everyone > Access and patient experience will be better > Better service safety and quality will improve health outcomesSUPPLY: > Robust contract management principles and process > Partnership working across Wales, UK and Europe > Optimisation of eTradingSTANDARDISATION: > Streamline Procure to Pay process > Robust performance management business intelligence > Lead innovative value based procurement projects.

People Centred Services - Delivering Value for Wales

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PROCUREMENT

As an established Procurement Service we have been assisting the Health Boards and Trusts in the delivery of patient centred services for over 6 years as part of NHS Wales Shared Services. We are an award winning service focusing on value, safety, excellence, innovation and quality.

As a Procurement Service we have an obligation to provide patients and the community with the best quality service, ensuring the right product, provision or service has been sourced and supplied efficiently and at the right price for all of Wales. Our aim is to have seamless procurement processes in place that release clinical time to focus on patient care.

Our commitment as a service is to continue to source and supply the best value products and services through collaboration with our customer and partners in the challenging times ahead both economically and financially for the people of Wales.

NHS WALES

2017-2022

OUR GOAL - Is to provide value for our Customers, Health Boards, Trusts, Patients and Communities of Wales; we will achieve this by:

> Providing reliable, value for money services that meet customer needs> Maximising the influence of our non-pay expenditure> Simplify the customer experience through efficiency, automation, timeliness and accuracy> Analysing data to develop improvements and innovations that deliver financial benefits

- Mark Roscrow, Director of Procurement Services, NWSSP

Our “Procure to Pay” (P2P) process will support the delivery of our Procurement Strategy

Our teams are aligned to the needs of the Health Boards and Trusts and will deliver the Procurement Strategy

> ANALYSIS> SOURCING> CONTRACT MANAGEMENT> REQUISITION TO RECEIPTING> STOCK MANAGEMENT> PAYMENTS

> FRONTLINE> SOURCING> eENABLEMENT> SUPPLY CHAIN> HEALTH COURIER SERVICE> ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

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STRATEGY


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NWSSP & CMFT Networking

On 23 August Chris Thain (Deputy Head of Procurement, Cardiff & Vale UHB) and Romano Provini (Senior Category Manager, Non-Medical Sourcing) visited the Central Manchester Foundation Trust (CMFT) to spend the day with their Procurement team. This networking opportunity had been borne out of Romano and Chris’ participation in North West Skills Development Network’s NHS Future Leaders Programme, which looks to provide more focused support in a manager’s leadership development journey within the NHS.

The purpose of the day was to facilitate the sharing of practice on a host of areas throughout the P2P cycle, whilst gaining further experience of the challenges faced in other NHS procurement bodies. The boys were also introduced to the Director of Procurement for CMFT, Simon Walsh, who was kind enough to share his admiration for NWSSP!

Safe to say the day proved very useful and gave plenty of food for thought to both parties on areas such as accounts payable, inventory management to general administrative practices/methods used in managing the procurement teams’ portfolio.

NWSSP will be reciprocating CMFT’s hospitality on 7th November at Companies House, whereby a similar meeting format will take place.

Pop by and say Hello!

Picture clockwise from top left; Mark Stephens (Head of P2P, Procurement & e-Commerce Department, CMFT) Ross Palmer (Senior Purchasing Manager, Procurement & e-Commerce Department, CMFT) Romano Provini and Chris Thain

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New Contract Award and Supplier of Infusion Devices: Cardiff & Vale University Health Board

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Claire Salisbury

Alwyn Hockin and Graham Davies

The CVU UHB currently manages 775 volumetric pumps, 536 adult syringe pumps and 50 neonatal syringe pumps through the Equipment Loan Service which is a function managed by the UHB’s Clinical Engineering department.

All of the volumetric pumps and the 50 neonatal syringe pumps are funded through a commodatum contract through the purchase of disposable infusion items. The 536 adult syringe pumps have all been purchased over time by the UHB and are fully owned.

The current commodatum agreement funds the loan of the devices and all of the spare parts used in their maintenance.Clinical Engineering currently carries out the work as it reduces the cost to the UHB. The UHB has been using Alaris Signature volumetric pumps since 2003 through Carefusion (Now Becton Dickinson.)

All of the infusions devices are end of life and need to be replaced. To replace the existing fleet of equipment would require at least a £2 million investment and therefore an invitation to tender was published requesting bidders submit bids to replace the existing fleet of Volumetric and both adult and neonatal Syringe Pumps through a commodatum arrangement as was previously the arrangement with the Volumetric and neonatal syringe pumps.

This would also allow the UHB to include the ongoing maintenance and support costs including the cost of spare parts throughout the lifetime of the contract whilst only paying the cost for the consumable items.

A Procurement process has been undertaken via the NHS Supply Chain Framework agreement. Whilst a direct award route was an option it was felt that due to the significant time that the incumbent supplier has held the current contract a minicompetition would be appropriate not only to test the market in terms of its commercial position but also to seek and evaluate the latest technology available in the Infusion Device market. Three tenders were received from Becton Dickinson, B Braun andFresenius Kabi Ltd.

A Clinical Trial was undertaken in 8 specialties over an 8 week period. Each supplier was given a week per Clinical Area to trial to ensure that sufficient feedback could be obtained from a variety of specialties and clinical staff.

The contract has been awarded to Fresenius Medical and realised £420k annual reoccurring savings for the UHB which is as a result of a significant reduction in the cost of giving sets.

An ambitious implementation period will now commence with training of Practice nurses and Clinical assessors already underway.

For further information relating to this please contact Nadine Stokes: [email protected]

mailto:nadine.stokes%40wales.nhs.uk?subject=


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Alwyn Hockin and Graham Davies

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Powys Teaching Health Board Estates Contractors Engagement EventOn 27 September the North Wales Frontline Procurement team partnered with the Estates & Property Department of Powys Teaching Health Board to deliver a hugely successful contractors engagement event.

The supplier open day was held in the Concert Hall at Bronllys Hospital, Powys and was attended by a wide range of contractors varying from large consulting organisations specialising in construction, through a plethora of SMEs to a number of sole traders providing one-man band services such as garden services.

The event was advertised on the Sell2Wales website, social media and via direct communication with incumbent suppliers and the local supplier base, resulting in a very well supported event.

The purpose of the event was to:

• Raise awareness and interest in the exciting pipeline of Estates and maintenance projects for the PTHB• To educate and support the contractor supply base in regard to the procurement process that will deliver the projects for the Health Board.

To achieve these goals the event combined a short set of presentations (delivered on a regular basis to suit the drop-in format of the event) and a break out area where the PTHB team had arranged a series of poster boards showcasing completed projects and providing detail on the forthcoming projects.

Wayne Tannahill, Assistant Director of Estates and Property, PTHB presentedthe project pipeline and discussed the forthcoming opportunities. Ian Emptage, Senior Procurement Business Manager, NWSSP provideda brief introduction to NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership – Procurement Services and discussed the procurement process outlining the role of the Sell2Wales and etender-wales Bravo Solutions tools.

In the break out area, PTHB Project Managers were on hand to talk through the opportunities and needs of the Health Board. Also in the break out area Mat Williams, Assistant Procurement Business Officer was available to demonstrate the etenderwales tool and he and Ian Emptage were on hand to provide more information on the procurement processes utilised by the Health Board and NWSSP, and how to access the opportunities.

The event was well organised by the PTHB team and delivered an exciting day. Procurement Services were delighted to have had the opportunity to support Powys Teaching Health Board with the event.

Presentation area

Breakout area

Ian & Mat from Frontline Procurement

Examples of projects were on display


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Sustainability Website Revamp If you have a question on Sustainability, the Well Being of Future Generations Act Wales, Ethical Employment or require further advice to on how to integrateEnvironmental and Green issues into the tender process, check out the newly revamped NWSSP Sustainability Website here:

http://www.procurement.wales.nhs.uk/supply/sd-pol-icy

The aim is to have a single hub of information that is maintained and kept relevant for users.

The public sector has a vital role to play in furthering sustainable development through the procurement of goods and services.

In recognition of this role, NWSSP Procurement Services will promote leadership in sustainable procurement. This revamped website; is intended to contribute to this aim.

As the site is user focused, suggestions for changes and additions would be much appreciated. Please let me know via my email address: [email protected]: 029 2090 3852

There is also an “Ask Us” link from the website itself.

http://www.procurement.wales.nhs.uk/supply/sd-policy



mailto:david.ball%40wales.nhs.uk?subject=


Sustainability Website Revamp How are Procurement Services addressing the requirements of the Well-being of Future Generations Act?

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Procurement Services, through it’s internal Sustainable Development Group has been working over the past year to establish how it will assist in supporting the delivery of the Well-being of Future Generations Act.

The act requires that 44 public bodies across Wales, including all Health Boards and Powys, Velindre and Public Health Wales NHS Trusts, consider the 7 Well Being Goals, as illustrated opposite, in their activities going forward;

The output of this work by Procurement Services has seen the development of a range of objectives against each of the Well Being Goals and a link to these can be found under the Sustainability section of the Procurement Services’ website.

If you would like to receive any further information in relation to the work beingundertaken in this area please contact: Keir Warner, Chair of the Procurement Services SD Group.

mailto:keir.warner%40wales.nhs.uk?subject=


NPS Fresh Foods Framework Award

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The Catering & Textiles team have been working closely with colleagues in the National Procurement Service (NPS) to feed our requirements into their portfolio of three proposed frameworks with a view of achieving better value for our stakeholders via increased economies of scale.

Although this has been a challenging exercise we are pleased to say that NPS have now awarded their Fresh Foods framework which includes meats, fruits and vegetables, dairy products and bread.

The framework is broken down into twelve awarded lots, three of which have options to directly award business to suppliers on a ranked basis and the remaining nine lots require Procurement Services to establish best value by running further competitions.

The team will be undertaking mini competitions on fruit and vegetables, dairy products and bread in the coming months with a view to awarding these in March and April next year.

We are also currently in the process of working with the highest ranked supplier on the meat lot to undertake a direct award for these products.

Matthew Harrhy, Category Manager, said:

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team and our stakeholders for all of their help and input to the delivery of the NPS Framework.”


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eEnablement Team – Procurement Services

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Who are we and what do we do?

The eEnablement Team are responsible in supporting Procurement Services to improve and automate processes within the ‘purchase-to-pay’ (P2P) cycle. This cycle is shown below where we start off with contracting goods and services, then purchasing goods and services, delivery of goods and services, processing the invoices and then lastly, paying for the goods and services.

This diagram shows the ‘touch points’ where eEnablement (purple) support the P2P cycle:

We support Procurement Services and the Health Board/Trust end users in a number of different ways. eEnablement is made up of 6 distinct sections and this is their update:

Service Support TeamWe have a dedicated team who log all calls received whether from e-mail or phone. Their job is to provide first line support and assist you and manage the call through to resolution. Each Health Board/Trust has a different support model although we’re working with our NHS Wales colleagues to align practices or develop one model.

We’ll be improving this support shortly with Office 365 which we’re currently testing. This will allow end user PC visibility so we can see exactly what your issues are.

Training TeamAn online iProcurement training tool has been created and is now in the final stages of the project. Even though this has not yet been deployed, we’re already utilising it to assist existing users, when calls are raised to the Service Desk, we can send out interactive training simulations. When this is available you will receive a communication with full details.

We continue to host classroom lessons for Cardiff and Vale UHB, Aneurin Bevan UHB, Cwm Taf UHB, Public Health Wales, Velindre NHS Trust and Betsi Cadwaladr UHB although the online training will soon be available to all (if the Organisation wishes to utilise).

PLEASE NOTE: On average, we host two training sessions per week. Places for this training are valuable as demand is high. Despite this, we still have a lot of people who do not turn up for their training sessions or cancelling at short notice. We are actively trying to reduce this statistic by issuing reminders to trainees and escalating to managers when incidents of ‘no shows’ occur. This is now being monitored.


eEnablement Team – Procurement Services

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Systems TeamA relatively new team to eEnablement, the System Team is taking on technical related support calls which are assisting the Service Support Team. This is allowing the Service Support team to improve their monitoring of the service and identify issues quicker. An issue resolution database has been implemented to capture and record historical system issues. Moving forward this should then enable the team to resolve issues in a timelier manner. This team is also assisting with projects where system development and configuration is required.

Catalogue Management TeamResponsible for loading all items into the iProcurement catalogue, this team continually look at ways to improve the process for catalogue accuracy. Workshops have been held to assist the Contract team areas of improvement when submitting a ‘catalogue item request’. Feedback has been positive.

In recent months we’ve implemented a process to identify item duplication. Even though this is working, we will look to automate this by developing the system further. Business Intelligence (BI) Reporting TeamThe BI team are continuously developing reports so Procurement Services can make business decisions. This allows us to identify real business impact whether around the purchasing of products or the success of a project. Procurement Services report against ‘Key Performance Indicators’ (KPI) to measure performance.

Service Improvement TeamWe continue to look for new ways to improve processes and drive projects. The challenge we have is implementing these changes across multiple NHS Wales organisations in a single standardised way, however, projects are being delivered and improving the P2P process. Quality Integrated Management SystemOur internal project in developing full procedure documentation for all the processes that we support is near completion which will enable the current extension to scope of certification of ISO27001 & ISO9001 into eEnablement by the end of 2017-18.

Here to HelpDon’t forget we provide assistance to Oracle iProcurement users including training requests but if you have any queries on the above areas please get in touch.

The Service Support desk is open Monday – Friday 8.30am – 5pm.

You can contact the Service Desk via email anytime: [email protected] call 02920 903880 during business hours.

mailto:NWSSP_Procurement_eEnablement_servicedesk%40wales.nhs.uk?subject=


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Update on the new NHS Wales Master Indemnity Agreement (MIA)

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A Master Indemnity Agreement (MIA) is an overarching arrangement to provide contractual coverage for NHS Wales organisations when in receipt of equipment(incl products) from a supplier, on either a loan or transfer basis.

The Indemnity Agreement will set out the detail & purpose of the arrangement and provide liability and legal cover for the receiving organisation.

NHS Wales Procurement Service has recently been in positive dialogue with Department of Health around implementing a separate but complimentary Master Indemnity Agreement arrangement within NHS Wales.

This new MIA will eventually replace the former system which became redundant after DOH had undertaken a major review of their approach (up until that point the 2 systems had been almost exactly the same in terms of approach, documentation and suppliers).

This had the net effect of making the NHS Wales MIA outdated and defunct.

NHS Wales Procurement Service is in the process of getting all the MIA providers currently on the DoH list onto the new NHS Wales register.

This is a significant undertaking requiring circa 700 suppliers to enact a new set of documentation.

Once this has progressed to a more advanced stage, we will be publishing the new documentation set, associated Guidance Notes, register of suppliers on the MIA alongside contact details for enquiries.

We have also been in discussion with Health & Care Research Wales around separate agreements for clinical investigations.

Whilst we’re working on getting the new arrangements in place any Health Board or Trust who requires a local MIA should continue to use the existing forms on our web site until advised differently.

We will update of any developments via the NHS Wales Procurement Service website:

http://www.procurement.wales.nhs.uk/supply/master-indemnity

Any queries contact Julia Goddard in the first instance: [email protected]

http://www.procurement.wales.nhs.uk/supply/masterindemnity




mailto:Julia.goddard%40wales.nhs.uk?subject=


UK Procurement Forum for Blood Services

On 18 September 2017 the Velindre Procurement team hosted the UK and Ireland Blood establishment Procurement forum, the event was the first since 2011.

The event was hosted at the Welsh Blood Service (WBS) headquarters in Llantrisant, and had attendees from all four UK nations and Southern Ireland.

The forum was held with the purpose to help increase collaboration, share ideas and increase procurement knowledge throughout the blood establishments in the UK and Ireland.

WBS work with the other nations on procurements to allow the service to still gain the benefits of collaborative procurements’ for the commonly brought products which differ from those traditional category spend in other areas of the Health Service.

Some of the key contracts discussed which are in process at the moment were, donor sample archiving services, blood bags and whole blood collection products.

The event was a great success with the next meeting scheduled for January as a conference call, and confirmed plans for an annual face to face meetings moving forward.

Welsh Blood Service headquarters, Llantristant

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Collaboration, Collaboration, Collaboration It is an exciting time to part of NWSSP Procurement Services at Frontline.

Due to the current financial climate and the need and desire to do things differently it is no longer procurement making the first move within the HB to help achieve financial savings, the HB is now knocking on Procurement’s door for assistance and guidance. This has certainly been reflective within Cwm Taf University Health Board over the last 18 months.

A significant factor for this change in perception of Procurement being the ‘Blockers’ to being the ‘Enablers’ has been the hard work and dedication of the local Procurement teamincluding those that have recently moved to pastures new in developing key relationships, raising awareness and delivering successfully on projects.

Also pivotal has been an opportunity for 2 key members, Esther Price, Head of Procurement and Annmarie Pritchard, Senior Procurement Business Manager to be part of a cohort of staff from CTUHB who undertook a Leadership and Management development programme within Cwm Taf…..PACT – Performance through Action for Cwm Taf.

The programme’s purpose is to ensure that leaders and managers have the right skills & knowledge mix for role delivery and performance, to embed the Business Partner mode of which Procurement are certainly at the forefront.

Collaboration with Planning & Partnership; Lead Darrell Clarke Head of Planning, Children, Young People and Families. Procurement Lead; Annmarie PritchardScope of the project; to engage with voluntary sector to find a suitably experienced provider to work in partnership with CTUHB to establish a new service model for the provision of specialist Parent and Family Support services for Families with Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other associated disorders across the Cwm Taf region.

PACT was an 18 month in-house senior manager development programme to develop and support the embedding of the business partner model within the organisation.

Why is it different? This is not within the ‘Traditional’ scope of Procurement, however this is an area of significant growth. During this age of ‘Austerity’ organisations are pressured into delivering more ‘Quality’ service provisions with less of the Welsh £.

Why is it different? It was through the building of relationships within the PACT programme that helped with this new collaborative approach, the collaboration extended further than just within the boundary of the Health board it involved local authority representation, representation from Interlink on behalf of the 3rd Sector and a parent representative.

Success? The contract is well into its first year and is performing extremely well. There was a gap within a patient pathway that was identified at inception of this project hopefully this contract will not only fill the gap but enhance the delivery and accessibility of the services and indeed the Wellbeing of our Cwm Taf community.

As CTUHB procurement business partners, Esther and AnnMarie were active participants on the programme. They brought their knowledge, experience and enthusiasm to the group, enabling the development wider understanding of what procurement can offer and the real value of engaging early. Strong working relationships have been established as a result and provide a robust foundation of partnership working for procurement moving forward.

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Collaboration with ICT Directorate; Lead Chris Ball, Head of IT Infrastructure. Procurement Leads; Hywel Jones & Gwyn Thomas.Scope of the project; Assist with ICT on key projects and contract renewals

Why is it different? This is a key example of where the Business Partner model is working extremelywell, having a dedicated resource in Hywel and Gwyn has helped with the buildingof key relationships has enabled dedicated time to be spent around available frameworks and competitive processes. Again the collaboration has extended further within NWSSP Shared Services with a more close relationship of colleagues within NWIS.

Success? There has been some significant financial savings gained from the collaborative approachSIP (PSBA) - £96K, Switchboard - £55K, Vodaphone mobile network £21,381 = Total £172,381.

NWSSP Supply Chain & Frontline Collaboration with Community Hospitals; ADC (Automatic Data Capture) Implementation (YCC & YCR)Scope of the project;Through collaboration with local procurement and YCC/YCR personnel, an opportunity presented itself to implement ADC within YCC (Ysbyty Cwm Cynon) and YCR (Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda).

Collaboration, Collaboration, Collaboration (continued)

By automating the stock ordering system there will be significantly fewer mistakes made on stock quantities ordered, and on stock items missed when orders are placed. This will be aided by a barcode being visible on every draw/shelf for every item that we order on that ward/department.

With the implementation of ADC, the HB member of staff will take less time to order stock on the ward/department, releasing them to cover other areas and to concentrate on improving the service areas, or clinical duties, which in turn makes the service provided a more professional and productive one.

This will lead to cost savings on wards. This will be realised when stock levels are set using actual stock usage data. This will lead to more realistic stock levels being implemented, hence less stock value in ward stock rooms at any given time.

The service will become more professional and the customer will have more faith in the automated system, as they will have more control, and easier access to adjust their agreed stock levels as the stock trends dictate.

Why is it different/benefits of project?The benefits of implementingADC are quite significant from an operational, technological and an environmental perspective. There will be a reduction in paper used within the HB which makes the service far more environmentally friendly. This will help reach environmental targets.

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There will be the eradication of human error during the ordering process through the automated data capturing process, hence creating a far better relationship with our customers. Wrongly ordered items or wrong amount of stock ordered by the wards/departments.

The following are a sample of the benefits from ADC:

1. Can provide more time to care (Where health care professionals are responsible for ordering/managing stock)2. Saves money (tighter, quicker and far more robust stock ordering process. This in turn will save physical ordering time so time can be reinvested in other areas.)3. Gives flexibility to manage weekly stock level.4. Management information (Usage reports to manage stock)5. Environmental- Reduction in paper used, as tall orders are currently processed via a paper process which is followed by an email order.6. Reduction in time it takes to order – Manually filling out paper requisition/order forms is extremely time consuming and the member of staff’s time could be utilised in other areas.7. Reduction in wrong quantities ordered – Being completely reliant on human accuracy in counting stock levels increases the chances of mistakes.8. Reduction in items being missed off order – With no automated ordering systemthere is always a high chance of missing some items from the order.

Success? The success of the project will be measured by evaluating Ward reviews along with usage data/spend during a set period.

During the CIPS Annual Conference 2017, Richard Woodford, Global Procurement Category Director and Laura Vosper Director of Marketing of the education publisher Pearson delivered to the conference the following:

10 tips for successful cross-functional collaboration

1. Be honest2. Clearly outline what you want to achieve3. Listen to each other4. Be accommodating to each other’s arguments5. Look for common ground6. Try and understand each other’s language7. Make the process as simple as possible8. Challenge each other and others around you9. Align objectives and ask questions10. Remember, together you can be a formidable team.

Collaboration, Collaboration, Collaboration (continued)

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The Local Procurement team at Aneurin Bevan have supported the delivery of significant efficiencies through closer engagement with the Trauma and Orthopaedics team, based in Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport.

This joint working has resulted in a forecasted £205,000 of annual savings through a rationalisation of hip/knee systems, re-negotiation of spinal implant costs and a re-alignment of contracts for the provision of orthopaedic theatre stacks and consumables.

Directorate manager Ian Jenkins picks up the story...

“We were confident that savings opportunities with major suppliers were available but required key information and support to begin unlocking and realising these potential savings.

The Procurement team helped us develop a detailed plan and negotiation strategy that allowed us to have in depth, face to face dialogue with suppliers. Not only did this facilitate the opportunity to deliver cash releasing savings for commonly used implants, but it also fostered and developed our relationships with these key suppliers.

Steven Leonard, our procurement support, was a key enabler who helped us cut through the procurement mire, so to speak, and help us deliver £205,000 of annual cost savings.”

Aneurin Bevan Local Procurement Team Support Efficiency Savings


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Oral Nutritional Supplements – ONS (also known as SIP feeds)ONS are nutritional drinks taken by adult and paediatric patients who cannot take all of their nutritional requirements they need each day from food alone. There are many types and flavours of ONS to accommodate patient’s taste preferences.

A new framework commenced on 1st October 2017 resulting in AW savings of £34,225 pa. This represents a 27% reduction in the overall value of the contract.

Customers should note that the contract includes some products charged at £00:00 i.e zero pricing. Please direct any queries to Gill Bailey: [email protected] or Kayleigh Zammit:[email protected]

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New All Wales Community Equipment Items Contract Awarded!The Appliances & Dressings Sourcing Team has recently finalised awards for the renewed All Wales Community Equipment Items contract. Equipment such as profiling beds, bathing lifts and hoists are essential to support the care of some of the community’s most vulnerable citizens as well as providing aids allowing independent living for people that might otherwise need to be in care or have extended periods in hospital. The provision of these aids is facilitated through Community Equipment Stores run by Partnership Boards that coordinate with different Public Sector organisations, such as Health and Local Authorities, to ensure joint equipment budgets are spent wisely. There is also significant expenditure by or via NHSorganisations in Wales.

NWSSP Procurement Services has long acted as the Contracting Authority for the contract covering this diverse range of products. As one of the team’s most intricate projects, the recent renewal required expertise to be gathered from organisations across the Public Sector rather than the NHS alone. The resultant tender covered 105 unique types of equipment, all requiring individual specifications to ensure that quality was at the forefront of any award decision.

Here are some vital statistics from the evaluation process:• Over 25 suppliers tendered for the recent contract• Evaluations were undertaken across 5 locations in Wales over a period of 6 weeks• Over 35 evaluators from organisations across Wales were in attendance• Over 450 product samples receipted as part of the evaluation process.

The approach in Wales has proved so successful that other Contracting Authorities have expressed interest in undertaking a similar process, leading to the inclusion of Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust as part of the Welsh contract. The increased volumes, careful use of reverse electronic auctions and the extensive research undertaken by the team during the specification process has resulted in a contract that will release inflation-beating savings in excess of £380K/annum back into the Public Sector across Wales and Shropshire.Further awards are planned for early next year and the contract will continue to be managed throughout its term by the Community Equipment Items Customer Focus Group which meets quarterly.

Pharmacy Appliances & Dressings Team Update

(Opposite) Evaluators in West Wales meticulously assess a two-tier trolley as part of the Community Equipment Items contract evaluations

mailto:gill.bailey%40wales.nhs.uk?subject=

mailto:kayleigh.zammit%40wales.nhs.uk?subject=


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Medicines Homecare Procurement Team UpdateThe recently appointed Medicines Homecare Team is part of Sourcing’s MedicinesAcute Team based in Companies House, Cardiff. The team comprises Jennifer Tresilian as Category Manager and Catherine Jones as Category Officer.

The team will deliver and manage a range of Medicines Homecare contracts to NHS Wales ensuring that resources are maximised and optimum solutions are provided to improve patient care and release resources for NHS Wales.

Medicines homecare delivery services ensure that ongoing supplies and where necessary, associated care, initiated by the hospital prescriber are delivered direct to the patient’s home.

Medicines Homecare CategoriesMedicines Homecare services are categorised by their relative complexity as defined within the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Professional Standards for Homecare Services:

• Low Tech Homecare (including self administration of oral therapy or medicinal products for external use only etc.)

• Mid Tech Homecare (including unlicensed medicines; medicines with special storage requirements etc)

• High Tech Homecare (including intravenous infusion; administration of medicines by healthcare professionals).

Current ActivityThe team is currently working on a proposed All Wales tender for Low and Mid Tech Homecare Services.This will provide Health Boards/NHS Trust with a fully compliant Agreement with a range of Homecare providers, enabling individual Health Boards/NHS Trust to make informed choices as to which provider(s) they wish toengage with.

The cost of the medicines to be supplied by the Homecare providers under this Agreement will be in accordance with the agreed All Wales Medicines Acute Contract prices for supply to hospitals in Wales. It is envisaged that the Agreement will be in place for a 1st April 2018 start.

Key Performance Indicators for WalesThe Medicines Homecare Team has produced a KPI data collection and monitoring system which will manage KPIs (as defined in the Handbook for Homecare Services in Wales) on an All Wales basis and will provide Health Boards/NHS Trust with an individual monthly report detailing agreed KPIs per supplier along with a summary of All Wales performance.

For any further information please contact:Jennifer Tresilian tel: 029 2090 3873 email: [email protected] or Catherine Jonestel: 029 2090 3865 email: [email protected]

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mailto:catherine.jones43%40wales.nhs.uk%20?subject=

procurement services customer newsletter · procurement services customer newsletter autumn 2017 8...

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