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The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA)
The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is an executive agency of the Department of Health, established on 1 April 2000.
Formed as a result of recommendations contained in the Cabinet Office Review of NHS Procurement (published in June 1999) the Agency, together with its sister organisation the NHS Logistics Authority, replace the special health authority NHS Supplies.
It works to ensure that the NHS in England makes the most effective use of its resources by getting the best possible value for money when purchasing goods and services
Selling to NHS (PPT), by Chris Spencer, Regional Development manager
Main context
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The NHS modernisation agenda
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Who makes the purchasing decisions?
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The role of the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency modernising NHS procurement
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The role of NHS Logistics Authority
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Supply Chain Excellence Programme
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Future of public procurement
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Selling to the NHS
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Selling to the NHS - A guide for suppliers (PASA Issue No 6 January 2006)
This booklet is aimed at helping existing and potential NHS suppliers gain a better understanding of how purchasing and supply works in the NHS. |
National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA):improving the safety and quality of care through reporting, analysing and learning from adverse incidents and 'near misses' involving NHS patients.
The infusion device purchasing toolkit：
The National Patient Safety Agency has developed a toolkit to help trusts review their exiting device management systems, as well as assess the potential for significant cost benefits and improved patient safety.
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NHS Confederation brings together the full range of organisations that make up the modern NHS in the UK.
We act as an independent and powerful force in the drive for better health and healthcare. We do this by:
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influencing health policy and the wider public debate
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supporting health leaders with information-sharing, networking and tailor-made services
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promoting excellence in employment to improve the working lives of healthcare staff.
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Our work is determined by our members. Our aim is to reflect the different perspectives as well as the common views of the many organisations delivering the new NHS.
Our core membership covers all types of statutory NHS organisation. Our members are the organisations themselves and these organisations are represented by individuals from board level – chief executives, chairs, non-executives and directors. We also have an affiliate membership scheme for commercial and not-for-profit organisations providing frontline services on behalf of the NHS.
Across the UK, The Confederation has devolved responsibility for meeting member needs to:
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After a review of the NHS supply chain, the Commercial Directorate launched the Supply Chain Excellence Programme (SCEP) in March 2004. The three-year programme is focused on the restructure of the NHS supply chain to gain efficiencies and improve the effectiveness of supply management in the NHS.
SCEP aims to gain the best value for the money the NHS spends each year on goods and services. Securing best value for money for the NHS that reflects product quality, innovation, price, patient safety and choice. This will ensure the greatest possible share of NHS funding is directed towards improving clinical capacity, and ultimately patient care. Overall, SCEP is expected to deliver annualised savings of over £500 million by 2007/08.
SCEP is divided into four projects
The programme is on target to deliver over £500 million in annualised savings by 2007/08. SCEP's benefits to date are £115 million annualised
Supply Chain Excellence Programme (pdf)
Collaborative Procurement Hubs
Introduction
Every year the NHS spends over ￡14 billion on non-pay goods and services, making the NHS a key player in local and regional economies. All too often in the past, variations in purchasing practices and a lack of a strategic approach to supplies management have meant opportunities to improve value have been lost.
In June 2003, the Department of Health (DH) established the Commercial Directorate (CD) to lead on its dealings with the independent sector and to improve commercial management practices. This led to the NHS Supply Chain Review that identified potential savings of ￡500 million a year through strengthening the national procurement function, accelerating the implementation of collaborative trust procurement and streamlining distribution of goods throughout the NHS. The NHS Supply Chain Excellence Programme (SCEP) was established as an outcome of the review with the aim of maximizing value for money and of improving frontline patient care.
This Briefing looks at one strand within SCEP – Collaborative Procurement Hubs – and the benefits they will provide for the NHS, its suppliers and stakeholders.
Oct 2004 Issue 106 |
Supply Chain Excellence Programme (SCEP)
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Last modified date:
8 February 2007
The Supply Chain Excellence Programme (SCEP) aims to gain the best value for money for the £15 billion the NHS spends each year on goods and services (not including staff pay). A three-year programme, it was set up in March 2004 after a thorough review by the Commercial Directorate of the existing NHS supply chain.
SCEP's objective is to restructure the NHS supply chain to gain efficiencies and improve the effectiveness of supply management in the NHS. This will help ensure that the greatest possible share of NHS funding is directed towards improving clinical capacity, and ultimately, patient care. It is on target to help the NHS save £500 million a year by 2007/08.
SCEP focuses on four key areas:
- National Contracts Procurement
- Collaborative Procurement Hubs
- NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency organisational review
- NHS Consumables supply chain and procurement service
National Contracts Procurement
The National Contracts Procurement (NCP) project aims to deliver savings of £240 million a year by 2007/08 through rigorous and robust sourcing of new national framework agreements. These cover part of the £4 billion of NHS spend that the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) influences. We are working closely with NHS PASA to raise awareness across the NHS about the significant savings available through the new national contracts, and to encourage their use.
The sourcing of the new national framework agreements is being done in two waves. Wave 1 addressed categories with an annual spend of £1.3 billion, where the forecast for savings is significantly higher than the initial estimate of £97 million. Wave 1 agreements cover furniture, fleet, pharmaceuticals, food, agency staff, stationery and some medical supplies.
We are currently looking at which categories will be included in wave 2, where savings are estimated at £143 million from an annual spend of £1.2 billion. The category list will be agreed by July 2005, and the new framework agreements should be in place during the first quarter of 2006.
Collaborative Procurement Hubs
Collaborative Procurement Hubs (CPH) are regional purchasing organisations that accelerate savings through collaborative purchasing for their member trusts.
In 2002, NHS PASA initiated a programme to set up regional procurement units called supply management confederations. Through our supply chain review, we found that, while each of the confederations had made positive progress, they were unlikely to deliver significant savings or improved performance with their current levels of investment. Collaborative procurement hubs were introduced as a significant step-change to achieve increased savings for their partner trusts, further develop clinical governance and sharpen procurement focus.
The CPH project has three objectives:
- Develop, test and roll out a model for collaborative procurement hubs which dramatically increases supply management capabilities, cost efficiencies and innovation at local and regional levels;
- Work with trusts and confederations in a phased approach to adopt this model across the NHS;
- Achieve annual savings of £270 million by 2007/08.
We piloted the CPH model through three pathfinders in the fourth quarter of 2004. Implementation started in February 2005, and the anticipated savings for these three hubs are expected to be in excess of initial targets.
The next group of hubs will begin their business cases in July 2005, with implementation expected in January 2006. Another group is scheduled to begin their business cases in January 2006 with implementation in July 2006.
NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency organisational review
NHS PASA was defined as a service of critical value to the NHS but changes to the organisational structure were necessary in order to maximise their expert procurement role. The new structure will make NHS PASA a more strategic and effective national procurement organisation so that it can meet the future objectives of SCEP and incorporate recommendations from the review of the Arm's Length Bodies (ALBs).
Under the new structure, which will be in place by summer 2005, roles within NHS PASA that are directly related to procurement will have grown from 60% to 75% of the new organisation. The new organisational structure brings great opportunities for NHS PASA to continue to raise the profile of purchasing and supply across the NHS and the DH.
For more information, visit:
NHS consumables' supply chain and procurement service
The NHS supply chain review identified that the consumables' supply activity managed by NHS Logistics and NHS PASA brings significant value to the NHS but could deliver even greater benefits.
We looked at a number of ways in which the necessary development, investment and expansion could be delivered, and concluded that a significant opportunity may exist in a new partnership with the independent sector. This reflects the government's belief that partnerships between the public and independent sectors can be used successfully to develop essential services in the NHS and elsewhere.
The market testing process, which explores the potential value of partnering with the independent sector, was started in August 2004. We anticipate that the final decision about the way forward will be made in the first quarter of 2006.
Both the reorganisation of NHS PASA and the proposed outsourcing market testing are in-line with the recommendations of the ALB Implementation Framework (November 2004).
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