The Crown Commercial Service (CCS), the UK’s foremost public procurement organisation, has announced its decision to fund two major NHS England initiatives aimed at enhancing commercial capability and efficiency, ultimately improving patient care and reducing waiting lists.
Key Investment and Objectives
CCS will provide NHS England with over £15 million in funding—averaging £5.3 million annually over the next three years. This substantial investment will support the NHS Energy Management Capability and establish the first-ever NHS Commercial Learning & Development Academy. This academy will offer NHS commercial staff a wide range of learning and development opportunities, empowering them with the skills needed to deliver a best-in-class workforce and elevate the overall commercial function within the health service.
Alignment with Government Goals
These training programmes are integral to the Government’s broader agenda to foster economic growth by ensuring that contracting authorities are fully equipped to manage all stages of commercial delivery effectively. The initiatives will also support the achievement of broader NHS objectives, including attaining better value for money and delivering world-class patient care.
Enhancing Energy Management
The NHS depends on energy to provide crucial care services to 1.6 million people each day. For example, energy is needed to clean spaces equivalent to the size of Gibraltar and to prepare 326,880 meals for both patients and staff. With CCS’s investment, NHS commercial and business teams will be better equipped to purchase and manage energy consumption more efficiently. The training will focus on best practices and innovative ways of working to improve how energy is procured and managed across NHS facilities in England. These improvements will significantly contribute to enhancing efficiency while also supporting the NHS’s net-zero ambitions.
Strategic Framework and Broader Impact
These initiatives are closely aligned with the new Strategic Framework for NHS Commercial, launched in November 2023. This framework represents a significant shift in how NHS Commercial will operate, focusing on enhancing commercial practices to drive productivity and efficiency.
This latest investment is part of CCS’s ongoing strategy to enhance commercial capability across the public sector. In 2022, CCS supported NHS England’s rollout of a unified e-commerce system as a common procurement platform across Trusts. This platform is rapidly being adopted, enabling the NHS to consolidate its procurement landscape and utilize commercial data more effectively.
Endorsements and Future Prospects
Jacqui Rock, Chief Commercial Officer for NHS England, expressed enthusiasm for the partnership: “These exciting initiatives with Crown Commercial Service will help the NHS continue to meet our commitments to patients and our workforce, while ensuring the best value for taxpayers. Our teams will be fully equipped to deliver a top-tier commercial function, making informed purchasing decisions that drive further efficiencies and improve patient care.”
David Skinner, Director of Business Development and Customer Experience at CCS, echoed this sentiment: “I’m thrilled that NHS England and CCS are deepening our partnership. This investment will enable us to continue supporting the NHS, ensuring better outcomes for our customers. CCS is deeply committed to our National Health Service and to working together to positively impact patients’ lives.”
A Department of Health and Social Care Spokesperson added: “This innovative cross-government collaboration underpins our mission to build an NHS fit for the future. It exemplifies our commitment to nurturing partnerships across the NHS and related bodies, fostering workforce development, increasing value for money, and ultimately enhancing patient care.”