University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust And NHS Supply Chain Agree To Work Together To Equip New Acute Hospital

NHS Supply Chain, managed by DHL Logistics, announces that its specialist imaging procurement team is supporting The University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) in equipping its new hospital with all its diagnostic imaging needs, including CT and MRI scanners.

The new hospital is being built under a £545 million Private Finance Initiative (PFI) which includes new mental health facilities for Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust. It will be the first new acute hospital in Birmingham for 70 years.

The NHS Supply Chain team has been working alongside UHB's New Hospital Project Team since July 2007, to develop processes for the purchase of major medical equipment for the 40 specialist treatment rooms planned for the new hospital, which is due to open in 2010.

It has also been working with the project team to ensure the Trust's clinicians have been involved in the product selection process so their expertise is used to make sure the very best equipment is bought.

The team is using NHS Supply Chain's national framework contract for medical imaging and diagnostic equipment. This is designed to reduce the total cost involved in such large scale projects, provide valuable procurement expertise and eliminate the need to undertake a lengthy European Union public procurement process by the trust.

Throughout the project, the team has been drawing on previous experience in supporting major government initiatives, such as the recent national foetal anomaly ultrasound screening project, which delivered more than £6 million in savings for the NHS.

Andy Harris, Head of Procurement at UHB NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Medical equipment accounts for a huge amount of the work involved in equipping the new hospital, and tapping into the specific expertise of NHS Supply Chain's imaging specialists is absolutely key. The support from the team will help us to deliver the procurement project within rigorous PFI timescales.

"And thanks to the previous work the team has already undertaken with clinicians on national projects, we can be sure we are making the best use of clinical time during the procurement process."

Roger West, Director of Procurement at NHS Supply Chain, added that the initiative was creating a new model of partnership between local procurement, clinical teams and NHS Supply Chain. He said: "This approach is designed to give trusts the flexibility and support to undertake large capital projects, drawing upon national framework contracts and the expertise of the NHS Supply Chain team. It enables them to go through the procurement process in a faster way and achieve better value than they would be able to alone."

"UHB has a reputation as a forward thinker in procurement, and this initiative is another example of that."

Contracts for the new hospital's imaging equipment are expected to be awarded in June 2008 in line with PFI building schedules.