#ServiceMatters: Enhancing NHS Procurement Support
For October, our focus is #ServiceMatters. To introduce this topic, Neil Davis, Procurement Support Team Manager, explores the importance of exceptional customer service, emphasising how it not only guarantees compliance and smooth operations but also strengthens relationships and helps with positioning us as a trusted partner in delivering value to the NHS.
"As the Procurement Support Team Manager, I’m proud to share insights into the work of our dedicated Support Desk team, which consists of Customer Support and Assistant Buyers. Together, we manage all incoming enquiries, ensuring customers receive timely, accurate responses that enhance their experience with NOE CPC frameworks. By simplifying access to our services and offering seamless support to category teams, we play a vital role in ensuring NHS trusts can easily tap into our procurement resources and find the right solutions for their needs.
"Across the ever-changing and fast-paced NHS procurement landscape, delivering outstanding customer service is essential, as it directly influences operational efficiency and, ultimately patient care. Procurement decisions have a profound impact on patient care and organisational sustainability, so trust and ensuring smooth, compliant processes are crucial.
"Our commitment to excellence has been reflected in the numbers. From April to August 2024, we handled 2,455 enquiries – a 10% increase from last year. We’ve also reduced average case resolution times from 1.3 days to 0.8 days, reinforcing the growing trust our members place in our services.
"We assess customer satisfaction through our annual members’ survey, which offers valuable insights into how our services are perceived and where we can improve. Additionally, we gather feedback through satisfaction surveys sent upon the resolution of individual enquiries. A key success metric is our ability to resolve enquiries within our Service Level Agreement (SLA) target. Over the past 12 months, we have improved our resolution rate, increasing from 97.6% to 98.5% within the standard three-day window. This reflects our ongoing commitment to efficiency and maintaining high standards of service.
"Our frameworks and services have never been easier to access. Members can access our framework documents directly from our website, eliminating the need for additional requests. This has streamlined the user experience and improved transparency. We are also continuously working to enhance the usability of our website and support tools, ensuring that members can quickly and easily find the information they need. Our Support Desk plays a vital role in amplifying the customer’s voice, making sure feedback is communicated to various teams within NOE CPC to help us deliver a service that meets the needs of our customers and members.
"As we look to the future, the upcoming Procurement Act 2023 brings significant changes in transparency, compliance, and competition. To meet these challenges, we’re upgrading our reporting tools and systems to provide enhanced visibility into framework usage. Additionally, our focus remains on upgrading the Support Desk system, exploring the use of AI-driven tools with our Technical Services team to deliver even more personalised, responsive services and ultimately create a proactive, data-driven support system that exceeds expectations.
"Effective customer service builds lasting relationships, solidifying NOE CPC as a trusted partner in delivering value to the NHS."
For further information or support, please contact our Support Desk at enquiries@noecpc.nhs.uk, or click here to visit our website.