NHS Supply Chain: Looking at how our products work in the healthcare environment
As procurement professionals, we are always looking for ways to improve our offering to our customers. Ensuring we deliver the right product, at the right place, at the right time is the cornerstone of our team. Our procurement specialist Kirsty Dodson spent a shift with a team from Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust to observe what their staff experience on a typical day.
I was supported by Lee Murphy at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust to undertake an observer day with a paramedic crew in Doncaster on 9 July. I was assigned to a lovely paramedic crew with Laura and Alan for their shift; the team were great in sharing their knowledge of the job and my day was very interesting and insightful.
Throughout the shift I experienced a number of blue light calls, including work accidents, mental health calls and a call to a prison. I also experienced patients being transferred to hospital - it was a very surreal experience sitting in the front of an ambulance travelling at speed to a call.
Throughout the course of my day with the team I had time to chat with them about a range of topics and products including the National Ambulance Uniform., I received positive responses to the uniform and the teams I spoke to said it was comfortable and they gave me some very useful feedback that I have shared within our team.
During my shift with the crew, I had the opportunity to look around the station and the equipment on the ambulances. The crew gave me some insightful feedback about a number of products we supply to them including pulp products, sick bags and absorbent pads. The crews I spoke to commented it was nice to meet the person behind the products.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my day with the paramedic crew, and I would definitely like to do another. I think its hugely important that as procurement professionals, we interact regularly with people who are using our products on a daily basis, not only can they provide valuable insight and feedback about how products perform in situ, but this feedback can help us in our relationships with suppliers ensuring our range of products meet their expectations.