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June 2011 | Lindsay Clark
A
fresh approach to procurement has enabled RotherhamNHS Foundation Trust to uncover an innovative lighting proposal for its hospital
refurbishment.
While
also saving on cost and reducing carbon, the NHS-leading lighting system that the
trust is in the process of buying will improve patient experience and give
staff better working conditions, said the trust’s head of procurement Steph
Holmes.
The
trust worked with the Department forBusiness, Innovation and Skills to implement
a forward commitment procurement (FCP) process that involves early engagement
with suppliers to draw on them to put forward innovative ideas to address the
hospital’s needs.
Holmes
said the public sector was often reticent about early engagement with the
supply chain because of the restrictions placed on them by European procurement
rules, which mean buyers can be contested during the procurement process. “[Suppliers]
can say, ‘well you didn’t have that conversation with me’. Dialogue therefore
tends to dry up,” she said.
The
trust engaged the supply chain with a market sounding prospectus and advertised
it through knowledge transfer networks and in magazines. It then published a prior
information notice on the Official
Journal of the European Union, as well as providing an online forum.
Interested suppliers were then invited to a workshop to put forward their
solutions, which led to competitive dialogue with consortia over the technical
detail.
The
suppliers were selected according to outcome-based specifications, which
included a “step change” in patient experience, a significant reduction in carbon
emissions and a more efficient maintenance process. “We knew what we did not
want – we did not want what was on the market today,” Holmes said. “It got to a
point when we saw a supplier who was offering an ultra efficient lighting
solution where we just sat up and said: ‘now that’s innovation’.”
A
demonstration ward will be fitted and assessed by staff, patients and managers during
July, before being taken down for winter demand. The trust hopes to implement
the final product next summer, she said.
