30 September 2010 | Paul Snell

Stephen Harratt has demonstrated impressive skills in his work on a project to review mental health rehabilitation services

CATEGORY: CIPS Young purchasing and supply management professional of the year

Working in the NHS after graduating from university, Stephen Harratt picked up a bug. Fortunately for him, it was the purchasing bug. And it was his drive to make a difference to the health service through improved procurement that secured him this award.

Harratt joined NHS re:source in July 2009 as purchased healthcare category manager in his first procurement role, having previously held commissioning and quality management posts. Re:source is a procurement hub based in the East Midlands which provides purchasing advice and support to 22 NHS organisations in the region, which spend around £5.4 billion a year.

The first task Harratt was given was to review the provision of mental health rehabilitation services in the East Midlands. The vendor market has grown a lot since the closure of many NHS mental hospitals in the 1970s and 1980s. So for almost 20 years primary care trusts (PCTs) – which control around 80 per cent of the NHS budget – have had little idea of cost, value for money, or if the specification was appropriate. There is also a lot of variation between suppliers, with differences in cost, service levels and monitoring.

NHS stakeholders had high expectations of the project, and Harratt quickly built credibility by establishing meetings with commissioners of the services, clinicians and finance leaders across nine PCTs. There was a need to convince stakeholders a new approach was needed – one that could cut costs and improve patient care. The key was to focus on developing a strategy that monitored patient outcomes as part of the key performance indicators of the contract.

Innovations included the development of an online tool that provides management information, and links to invoicing systems to reduce admin and duplication for commissioners and vendors.

Ultimately, the project led by Harratt has produced £4 million of costs savings for re:source customers, and enabled 76 per cent of patients to access rehab programmes tailored to their needs.

“Stephen has handled a challenging market and customer base with little technical experience but has delivered a project that an experienced procurement professional would be proud of,” says 
Chris Spark, assistant director of procurement at re:source.

Also on the short list

Camran Aslam, Abbott; Ronan Carter, Allergan; Natasha Lowe, Cancer Research UK; John Francis, PZ Cussons International