On Thursday 18th July 2024, iNetwork hosted the NHS Provider Selection Regime: the story so far roundtable discussion. The session focused on the NHS Provider Selection Regime, PSR, which was introduced on 1st January 2024 and has changed the way healthcare services are procured in England. Delegates heard from two speakers who have experience within this sector and were provided with the opportunity to discuss their own experiences and gain advice from speakers and attendees within the group.
Debbie Gaunt, Corporate Procurement Officer at Calderdale Council, opened the presentations with an overview of the regulations and the timeframes for the development of the legislation prior to the Regime coming into force. Debbie emphasised the importance and benefits of training for staff working within Procurement and Commissioning in order to fully understand the changes and how this would impact the work undertaken by teams when procuring healthcare services. The NHS developed a series of webinars and training materials for the new regulations, which have been successful in supporting teams and organisations to understand the changes and procedures. An overview of the regulations can be found here and you can view the guidance for implementation here.
She then focused on how Calderdale Council began to prepare for the implementation of this. In October 2023, the Council reviewed their Public Health contracts to determine which would come under the scope of the new regulations and prioritising what needed to be done. The timescales for the introduction of the Act meant they had to learn and adapt quickly, Debbie advised that a key task is to work out the Governance route and structure as early as possible to guide your organisation in the implementation of the new regime and to map through the different procedures in order to understand the Act and its implications. A strong relationship between Public Health, Commissioning and Procurement teams was really beneficial in supporting Calderdale to understand the new processes and the demands and aims of the teams. She reiterated that preparation is truly key in implementing any changes and that open and honest communication channels really benefited them in their journey.
Following on from Debbie’s presentation, delegates then heard from Phil Chanin, Principal Commissioning Officer at Bolton Council, who spoke about Bolton Children’s Integrated Health and Wellbeing Service (0-19 service) which was undertaken under the new regulations. Phil described how Bolton Council utilised the PSR Flowchart to determine the appropriate process to follow for awarding this contract; the following steps were used by the team:
By utilising the flowchart, Bolton Council were able to follow the Direct Award Process C for awarding the contract and a timeline was then drawn up with procurement to ensure a clear process with clearly defined timescales and responsibilities. An 18 month lead time has been implemented with the contract due to commence in April 2025. Phil outlined how the teams have worked together to understand the process for procuring this service under the PSR. He emphasised the importance of having a strong team around you, in order to support learning and to overcome challenges that may arise within the procurement process.
As this process is ongoing, Phil was keen to iterate to delegates that they are continuing to learn as they go along, however there have been key learning points from the process so far:
– Involve key team members from day 1.
– Ensuring information is cascaded up and down in both organisations to ensure complete buy-in & sign off.
– Start early, earlier than you think you need!
– Meet regularly.
– Robust documentation & evidence gathering.
– Be open & honest to build up trust with providers –provides opportunity for real-time open dialogue around due diligence.
– Having a good communications plan
Following the presentations from Debbie and Phil, the group was then given the opportunity to ask questions and raise their own experiences. This led to an insightful and productive discussion, with many delegates engaging within the discussion and sharing their knowledge and learning with the group within a safe, non-judgmental space. The implementation of the PSR has changed practice for both NHS and Local Authorities alike and the introduction of the Procurement Act in October 2024 will further change the landscape of public sector procurement, it will certainly be interesting to see how the new Acts support each other in practice.
This topic remains a priority for iNetwork and the Connected Procurement and Commissioning (CPC) programme is committed to revisiting this issue in future events and activities.
For more information, please contact: Hannah Gains Stakeholder Engagement Manager, (CPC Programme Lead), iNetwork.