An incredibly important function within any NHS trust, hospital procurement departments are responsible for managing purchasing activity. This means negotiating pricing for essential items and planning what the organisation will need in the future in order to continue delivering high quality care, as efficiently as possible and making the most of every penny spent.
This achievement caps a particularly successful year for the team. Focusing on a number of core objectives, the department has overseen improvements to purchasing processes, as well as enhancing inventory management within the organisation, ensuring that colleagues have the right products, at the right time in order to provide efficient and effective patient care.
By automating a number of ways of working, the team has been able to maintain clear oversight of exactly what is being ordered by the Trust, as well as cutting down on the use of paper forms, which can often be time intensive and inefficient. By implementing a number of changes, the service has managed to curb excessive ordering of stock, cutting down on waste and employing good financial practice throughout the organisation.
Richard Somerset, Acting Head of Procurement at the Trust, said: “Over the past number of the years, the Procurement Department has worked incredibly hard in order to get the best deal for the trust, the NHS and make the most of every penny spent for the benefit of our patients. This award is evidence of this dedication from colleagues within the service and I am very proud to work alongside them each and every day.”
One of the NHS’ highest performing procurement departments, the team are consistently amongst the first to adopt innovative financial practices within the health service. Examples such as involvement in NHS England and NHS Supply Chain’s ‘High Cost Tariff Excluded Devices Programme’, which is estimated to save up to £100 million for hospitals nationwide, as well as working closely with hospitals nationwide to deliver the first ‘Nationally Contracted Products’, an initiative which explores demand for certain items and purchases them on behalf of the entire NHS, representing substantial savings for trusts.
Jon Sargeant, Director of Finance at the Trust, said: “I am delighted the team has won this prestigious award, which I believe isa testament to their skills and expertise. The team are leading the way in procurement and to be recognised by their peers is proof of this hard work, skill and dedication.
Since 2015, we have been working hard to improve the Trust’s financial position, delivering over £20 million in savings during this time and finishing the 2018/19 with a small surplus, the first positive position for almost four years. At the same time as making these substantial savings, patient care, treatment and experience indicators have improved – a fantastic achievement which is shared with every member of Team DBTH.”
The NHS Skills Development Network (Yorkshire and Humber) Awards took place on 16 June 2019 at the Hilton Hotel in Leeds.