NHS England appoints companies to new preferred suppliers procurement framework

Capita Business Services, Optum and Mouchel are listed alongside seven NHS commissioning support units (CSUs) on the new 'lead provider framework', giving healthcare providers a list of accredited firms which could help them run their commissioning processes. Between £3 billion and £5bn worth of services must be publicly re-tendered before they expire in April 2016 to comply with EU procurement laws, according to NHS England.

Healthcare law expert Barry Francis of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the introduction of "new people, new organisations and new ideas" into the commissioning process was a "welcome and exciting move".

"The NHS is facing huge challenges in resourcing and funding," he said. "It is clear that more money, though welcome and even if forthcoming, is not the answer. As most recognise - and as we see in recent publications such as the Five-Year Forward View, the Dalton Review and Better Health for London - new ideas and approaches are needed to commissioning and delivery."

All three private sector organisations will be able to provide advice on end-to-end support services procurement; including procurement for back office finance and HR, GP IT services, contracting and business intelligence. Optum and Capita will also be able to provide support on medicines management procurement matters. Individual health services will also be able to approach various CSUs for support across all areas of procurement.

CSUs were established in 2012 to provide services to CCGs, including back office administrative support, procurement and payroll services. Although currently part of the NHS, they are expected to ultimately become profitmaking businesses. There are currently nine CSUs operating across England. Seven of them have been appointed to the new framework, and will be able to provide procurement services and support across a range of areas.

NHS England said that the new framework would make the procurement process simpler and less costly for local hospitals and GPs. Use of the framework is expected to cut the typical procurement process to only three months. Organisations have been appointed to the framework on the basis of their ability to support innovative contracting approaches and redesigned services, it said.

"I'm delighted about the range of quality providers that have made it onto the framework," said Bob Ricketts, NHS England's director of commissioning support services. "I genuinely believe that these organisations have brought together the best services in the market to offer commissioners everything they need to deliver the vision of the Five-Year Forward View."

"Local commissioners have been asking for a faster, simplified approach to choosing and changing their commissioning support provider. The framework will cut a typical procurement process to only three months and with the free procurement and legal support we are offering to CCGs and other commissioners, we hope to make the burden of re-procuring their commissioning support requirements as small as possible," he said.

Published in October 2014, the Five-Year Forward View sets out a vision for the future of the NHS in England and priorities for disease prevention, flexible service delivery models, leadership and integration between the various organisations that deliver and oversee health and care services.