NHS procurement is changing and although the new Future Operating Model aims to improve cost efficiencies and save the NHS millions of pounds, a recent study by iGov has shown that limited skills and expertise is currently the biggest barrier to successful procurement for healthcare professionals.
Read on to learn more about the current challenges faced by NHS procurement professionals below.
Improving procurement knowledge
Learning and development was a key theme during this year’s P4H England event held at the NEC Birmingham in July. Over 1300 people attended the event, enjoying over 30 training sessions with healthcare procurement experts.
Appearing at P4H, keynote speaker Beth Louden, Head of Procurement Development at NHS Shared Business Services, noted the importance of continual development across NHS organisations:
“The most successful organisations are the learning organisations – organisations that continuously adapt to their landscape, that evolve as their landscape does, and that are not afraid to try and fail.”
With so much change currently happening within NHS procurement, employees have no choice but to learn more about the new Future Operating Model and how it will affect their organisation.
Healthcare professionals struggling to meet external and internal demands
Although events like P4H help to educate professionals across the country, the latest report by iGov, in partnership with Delta eSourcing, suggests that the NHS has a long way to go when it comes to staff training.
The Impact of Procurement in Healthcare: Challenges and Opportunities 2018 survey, which targeted respondents from a broad cross-section of job functions throughout national healthcare, revealed that just 20% of participants say “they have the right level of experience and skills to cope with current internal and external environmental demands”.
When asked what the biggest barrier to successful procurement was, limited skills and expertise was reported as being the main problem, with training identified as the biggest need for organisations concerning legislation updates.
Read the full report
Download the full report to gain access to these statistics and more key findings around the challenges and opportunities facing healthcare professionals today.
The report also contains a conclusion from Professor Duncan Eaton, Executive Advisor to the All-Party Parliamentary Health Group and Chair of P4H England.
Access the report here or speak to one of our procurement experts.
