Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Accepted
Absence of national clinical leadership and outcome monitoring for product use, impacting best practice.
Recommendation
NHSE acknowledged that it does not direct or constrain local decision-making or monitor the use of, or outcomes from use of, a product. As a result, while trusts have the freedom of choice over which products to buy, there is no national leadership or analysis on which products lead to the best outcomes, other than for highly specialised equipment.41 NHS Supply Chain has recently appointed a clinical director but NHSE has not yet appointed a position giving national clinical leadership that can get clinicians to follow agreed national category strategies, as requested by NHS Supply Chain in December 2022.42
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and claims implementation, stating NHS Supply Chain will redesign its Commercial Service Proposition by November 2024, led by its newly appointed Clinical Executive Director, to enhance clinical engagement in sourcing decisions and national category strategies. NHS England will provide necessary clinical support to NHS Supply Chain to deliver savings programmes.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 6.2 NHS SC engages clinicians in all sourcing decisions. Lead trusts are used to ensure the voice of the clinical workforce is at the forefront of understanding needs that should be fulfilled by commercial activity. 6.3 To create the opportunity to enhance the voice of the clinical teams in future decision making, NHS SC will re-design the Commercial Service Proposition by November 2024 and be clearer in the opportunities for representative clinical groups to engage in future commercial activity. This work is being led by the newly appointed Clinical Executive Director of NHS SC. 6.4 NHS SC will continue to work with NHS Trusts to identify when they will implement the current schedule of Value Based Procurement initiatives and continue to focus selection criteria for supplies across the broad range of value drivers in the NHS (including sustainability, patient outcome and clinical efficiency alongside unit cost). 6.5 These steps will help reduce the current catalogue of around 600,000 individual items where the intention is to ensure that any product that an individual clinician might want is available for them to purchase to one where there is a smaller list of products based on clinical input and best practice. 6.6 NHS England will provide clinical support to NHS SC where necessary to support the delivery of the savings programmes.