New guide to procurement in the NHS

3 April 2012

The complex routes to NHS procurement are mapped out in a new guide, published quarterly by medical and healthcare industry specialists Medilink UK.

 The NHS Procurement Guide is designed to give small and medium sized companies the chance to secure new contracts. It breaks down the many routes into this £20bn marketplace and identifies hard-to-find sub-OJEU procurement opportunities from NHS trusts all over the UK.

Written in collaboration with sales and marketing consultant Martyn White, the Guide will be regularly updated to reflect the introduction of Clinical Commissioning Groups and structural changes, as well as providing a monthly bulletin with a comprehensive listing of NHS buyers and where they post their lower value opportunities.

Supported with Quicklinks, the Guide takes companies direct to the procurement hubs, where they can simply register as a supplier and let the NHS come to them. “The truth is every new policy to streamline procurement and adopt innovative products or implement cost-savings is simply making the system even more complex,” commented Martyn White.

“That’s why you’ll find one hospital’s procurement process bears little resemblance to the one around the corner. NHS procurement looks set to become increasingly complex over the next few years but it’s still a massive market opportunity for those of us in the medical and healthcare supply chain. This Guide will save companies a vast amount of time and energy by taking them directly to the NHS buyer that’s most appropriate for them.”

Medilink WM’s sales manager Sue Wilde added: “While the OJEU tenders are well publicised, these smaller tenders, worth less than £113k, can be incredibly difficult to find. We’ve collaborated with Martyn White Consulting to publish a guide that will help small and medium sized businesses avoid the dead ends and red herrings that are inherent within the existing NHS procurement process and get straight to the contacts and buyers that companies need to influence.

“We know that the system will be drastically changing over the next few years, so keeping up with this is an ongoing project. For one subscription, companies will get four comprehensive updates and 12 bulletins, so they can be sure their information stays up to date.”

The Guide in available from the Medilink website: www.medilinkuk.com

 

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