Looking back at a busy year across the procurement landscape
This year has been dramatic for both the wider landscape and our community, with an election, a change of Government, delays in the Procurement Act, and the implementation of new Cabinet Office Spend Controls. The nature of our operations means we are adaptable and responsive to the changes and the needs of our members and customers. Savings delivery has become increasingly important to our membership and we have worked hard to be ahead of our savings performance last year. We have expanded our resource, grown our categories, and become an NHS England Accredited Framework Host as part of our commitment to ensure we operate efficiently and effectively for you and the wider NHS.
July 2024 marked the first anniversary of the expanded Facilities and Office Solutions category management service provider (CMSP) contract. The CMSP team has worked incredibly hard to deliver significant savings and launch the landmark NHS Healthcare Uniforms national framework.
Our Sustainability and Social Value (SSV) provision has grown, with Alastair Clay's work with Humber & North Yorkshire Procurement Collaborative being shortlisted for the HCSA Sustainability/Social Value Excellence Award. Furthermore, his hugely popular programme of SSV training for members and suppliers has been shortlisted for several awards this year including the GO Sustainable Procurement Award, Skills Development Network Award Sustainable Procurement Award, and the HCSA EIS (North) Regional Champion in Support of Procurement Award.
The procurement operations team, led by Natalie Ledger, has implemented more efficient processes, increasing the number of projects delivered, especially those above the PCR threshold, while ensuring strong governance and assurance. They have done a fantastic job supporting the organisation, our members, and customers through various procurement activities and policy changes as well as steering us through the implementation of the cabinet spend controls process, preparing for the new regulations and maintaining our assurance and accreditations.
Our category teams have had a busy and challenging year. The HR and People team has supported customers and members in reducing off-framework spend and complying with rate caps. They have also delivered well-attended NHS Workforce Alliance workshops nationwide, with more planned for 2025, helping colleagues collaborate and address the challenges faced in delivering on the NHS people plan.
The FM, Property and Business Services team have launched the new Language Services and Specialist Estates Engineering & Maintenance Services frameworks. They have also been working with suppliers supporting members and customers with Sustainable Laundry and Linen Management through the Laundry and Linen Total Solutions framework.
The Technology (ICT) category has seen significant activity this year to improve the ease of engagement and access to our frameworks for members and customers, including working in alliance with NHS LPP to expand the portfolio. The team has delivered a series of TechTalks this year, online events offering category insight and framework guidance. They have also developed their digital toolkit on the website including the new Supplier Sourcing Tool for the Non-Clinical Systems DPS to make access more efficient for customers.
The Healthcare Services and Pharmacy team has continued to deliver highly specialist services supporting members and customers with some complex procurement and responding to the market challenges in the outsourced pharmacy services category. In addition, Ruth Burns is supporting the national enteral feeds project applying her specialist knowledge of the market and sharing our expertise in enteral feeds and supplier engagement.
Our training and events programme continues to go from strength to strength with a record number of events delivered this year and record attendance. We will be sad to see Caroline Brash leave us in January, she has been with us for so many years and instrumental to our programme to date, but we are committed to continuing the high standards and delivery of our training and events provision.
Our communications team has been working hard to bring you specialist information and updates that will be of interest. Registered users can now specify and update their areas of interest on the website to ensure they receive relevant content. The team have been out and about at many national events this year and managed to see many of you at Procurex, P4H, Healthcare Excellence Through Technology (HETT) Show 2024, Healthcare Estates 2024, and HCSA.
We have also been growing our team and expertise to deliver more value to our members and customers by welcoming many new faces, read more about this in our onboarding article. We have also supported many others developing into new roles and progressing their exciting career with NOE CPC.
The next 12 months will bring further changes with the delayed Procurement Act and new procurement regulations. We will continue to work closely with partners, including NHS LPP and the Workforce Alliance, to offer a complete service and deliver better value to our members and customers. In April-June we will be finalising the rebate which is currently in a really strong position. We will also continue our work with our membership to understand how they can extract the greatest value from their rebate. We continue to build customer relationships, offering insight, expertise and understanding to support your continuing ICS journey and day-to-day needs as an NHS Trust.
We recognise the challenge you face with resource constraints and we know the savings pressure will continue. We are here to support you and underpin your delivery in the areas in which we are expert. I hope you manage to take some time to rest over the festive period and spend some time with the people who matter. From my team to yours, have a wonderful Christmas break and we look forward to working with you in 2025.