The Hub welcomed colleagues from across the region to the Clinical Procurement Forum on 26 March. The session brought together clinical, commercial and sustainability leads to share updates, discuss priorities and explore opportunities for collaborative working.
Suction tubing and chest drains national product management (NPM)
Jill Kettle opened the first Forum meeting for 2026 with an update on the NPM offer for suction tubing and chest drains. The offer includes opportunities for straightforward switches with a clear benefit for trusts reviewing budgets for the year ahead.
Chest drains present a modest saving across the region, while suction tubing offers a more substantial opportunity. Regional collaboration could help members reach higher tiers and secure stronger pricing. The Hub will continue to support organisations that wish to explore samples or next steps.
Jill also highlighted emerging opportunities on IV gravity sets and invited trusts to express interest in reviewing medical pulp and dry wipes. Several members shared early experience of product performance, including the impact on macerators and waste management.
Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment framework
Ailsa Richardson presented the new Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment framework, which went live on 1 February 2026. Developed under the Provider Selection Regime and shaped through research and pre‑market engagement, the framework brings together nine clinical specialities into a single, flexible route to market.
The framework responds to shared challenges across the NHS, including workforce capacity, waiting times and national expectations for cancer pathways. Organisations can direct award for defined services using fixed prices or run mini competitions for more bespoke requirements.
It also offers a multidisciplinary lot for combined services, with the Hub available to advise on PSR compliance. The framework will reopen in September to allow new providers to join.
Sustainability: reducing waste and improving resilience
Stella Cockerill and Trudii Isherwood delivered a joint session on sustainable healthcare. They emphasised the legal duty within the Health and Care Act to consider environmental impact in all decisions. Sustainable healthcare is not an add‑on; it is about how we deliver services, use products and plan for the future.
The session explored:
- how prevention, patient involvement, lean pathways and low‑carbon alternatives support high‑quality care
- why supply chain emissions remain the biggest challenge
- practical examples that are already delivering benefits across trusts
- opportunities for collaboration on reusable products, waste reduction and value‑based decision making
Stella and Trudii also outlined the direction of travel within the national Design for Life programme, which is expected to introduce product‑level requirements to support a shift from single use to reusable items. Members agreed that sharing learning across the region and reducing duplication will help maintain momentum.
Medtech Compass
Jason Nolan from the Department of Health and Social Care updated the Forum on Medtech Compass, a new national digital platform in development. Medtech Compass will provide a single place to view evidence, product evaluations and trusted data to support decision making for medical devices.
The platform aims to help procurement and clinical teams identify innovations, compare options and reduce the need for repeated evaluations. The beta phase will begin later this year, with opportunities for trusts to take part in early trials.
NHS Supply Chain update
Simon Bright from NHS Supply Chain presented a regional update on advanced wound care. Spend across the category remains fragmented, with significant variation in product use and pricing. Simon outlined the scale of opportunity for consolidation and the benefits of a coordinated regional approach.
Next meeting
The next Clinical Procurement Forum will take place on 25 June. We look forward to welcoming colleagues again and continuing to build shared approaches that support high‑quality, sustainable and value‑driven care.
Related content:
- Blog: December 2025 Clinical Procurement Forum
- Blog: September 2025 Clinical Procurement Forum
- Blog: July 2025 Clinical Procurement Forum
Learn more about the forum:
The Clinical Procurement Forum is a bimonthly online event facilitated by the Collaborative Procurement Hub (CPH) and open to all ICS clinical and procurement specialists in the East of England region, as well as to NHS Supply Chain professionals.
For more information and to register, please contact Jill Kettle, Senior Clinical Products and Services Specialist at: [email protected].