Chris Whitehouse, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation at Whitehouse Communications, and a Trustee of the Bios Centre for bioethics welcomes the latest commitment to value-based procurement by NHS Supply Chain.
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, whose three-year campaign to see value-based procurement for medical devices introduced across the NHS in England, has secured a Ministerial commitment that NHS Supply Chain, which had been reluctant to embrace the new approach, will comply with the new value assessment methodology or be required to explain why it is not doing so.
The commitment was given by Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health, Baroness Merron, in a written answer to a question tabled by Lord Hunt, a former Health Minister in the Tony Blair government.
After concerns had been raised about NHS Supply Chain inserting maximum pricing thresholds into recent tenders, whilst still claiming to adopt the value-based approach, Lord Hunt’s question asked that the Government “ensure that when conducting framework tenders for medical devices in England, NHS Supply Chain refrains from introducing maximum pricing thresholds and fully adopts the recently-launched value-based procurement national standard guidance”.
The Minister, in response, said that NHS Supply Chain is “fully committed to the adoption of value-based procurement (VBP) and has moved to a comply or explain model for future frameworks. NHSSC considers the application of pricing threshold approaches on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the specific market dynamics at play. NHSSC does not currently, and does not intend to, apply thresholds to all framework tenders. The Department is continuing to work with NHSSC on the application of VBP to future frameworks.”
The Ministerial commitment is the latest step in aligning NHS management, procurement and clinicians to put patient experience and outcomes, rather than lowest price, at the heart of purchasing decisions, and takes the NHS in England closer to delivering the paradigm shift necessary to make value-based procurement a reality. This column will keep readers updated on future developments.
The Author used AI in preparing this article. Comments upon or questions about this article can be addressed to chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com.
