There were great conversations and valuable insights at the July edition of the bimonthly Clinical Procurement Forum – an online event that was well-attended by NHS Supply Chain (NHSSC) and procurement specialists from across the East of England region who shared expertise and best practice.
The conversation was started by Declan Nugent, Deputy Director of Finance Productivity at NHS England, who gave a summary of the regional financial position of all Integrated Care Boards. Paul Rochford, NHSSC Regional Manager, followed with a talk on NHSSC project opportunities – insights into which we may take a deep dive in future Clinical Procurement Forums.
Levente Fazekas, NHSE Head of Commercial Data Insight, then spoke about on the importance of clinical benchmarking, supply chain optimisation and the challenges of validating data for meaningful spend comparisons. Emily Binks, Senior Clinical Procurement Specialist at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust gave an in-depth presentation on her work with Needlefree devices. The project has already successfully delivered value in terms of clinical quality, safety and savings, and will soon be rolled out to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn and the James Paget Hospital.
Thank you to everyone who presented for leading valuable conversations around benchmarking tools and supplier optimisation, to Jill Kettle, Senior Clinical Products and Services Specialist at East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub, for facilitating the discussion, and to all who joined the sessions. It is clear that collaboration across trusts continues to strengthen the impact of procurement on both efficiency and patient outcomes. Together, we continue to connect people, purpose and progress.
The next edition of the forum will be on 17 September, 2025. Please feel free to follow up by contacting [email protected].