In 2018/19 the cost to the Department of Health and Social Care for procurement was £70 billion, the vast majority of which was NHS spending. The highest Government procurement spending is on the NHS, with around £18 billion on medicine per year and nearly £6 billion on hospital consumables including gloves and syringes.

The proposed Government reforms of the Department of Health and Social Care’s white paper ‘Integration and innovation: working together to improve health and social care for all’ aim to increase collaboration between partners in health and care systems and reduce bureaucracy. The UK Government’s proposed changes for public sector contracts in the UK set out in a green paper entitled ‘Transforming Public Procurement’ mark a radical shift away from the European procurement regimes post-Brexit.

The aim of these proposals is to simplify and speed up procurement processes, deliver value for money and give small businesses, charities and social enterprises the opportunity to innovate in public service delivery.

This timely event will examine in depth how the NHS procurement landscape is changing in line with government reforms. It will also give an insight into the impact of net-zero targets and how to achieve sustainable procurement.

Through a series of high-level keynote presentations and practical case study examples, attendees will gain a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in NHS procurement including the eProcurement Portal, the Digital Workplace Solutions Framework, collaborative procurement and Value-Based Procurement.