SoEPS Newsletter Issue 4 Spring 2015 May

ISSUE 04 • Spring 2015
Your Commercial Solutions Partner
BRIEF ON NEW PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
EU DIRECTIVES - APRIL 2015
Inside this issue
Brief on New Public
Procurement EU Directives
1
Directors Foreword
2
Charity Donation
3
Spring is in the Air..
3
Legal Updates
4
eSWAP Initiative
5
HCSA : What is it?
6
CEO Awards Kindles
7
BENEFITS
The ability to run procurement exercises faster, with less red tape and
more focus on getting the right supplier and the best tender.

Commentary on THE Risk
of evaluating bids
8/9
SoEPS new faces
10 / 11
Record Savings
12 / 13
Yasmin Caldera Charity
JOIN TODAY !
14


Contracts still have to be competed and awarded
transparently and without discrimination. This will enable
better commercial outcomes to be achieved;
Legal clarity resourcing criteria used to evaluate tenders;
Improved rules on social and environmental aspects;
KEY CHANGES PROPOSED







A simplified process of assessing bidders’ credentials, involving
greater use of supplier self-declarations. Only the winning bidder
should have to submit various certificates and documents to
prove their status; it may be possible to exclude bidders for poor
performance;
Time limits for procurement procedures may be shortened by
about a third;
More freedom to negotiate through new procurement routes;
The distinction between Part A and Part B services will be
abolished; OJEU advertising and other specific obligations will
stand;
Electronic communication / e-procurement will become
mandatory;
Encouraged to break contracts into lots to facilitate SME
participation;
Encourage and allow preliminary market consultation;
(Continues on Page 2)
Page 1
(Continued from Page1
Page 2
WHAT DO CLIENTS NEED TO DO DIFFERENTLY (ESP
WHILST DEVELOPING TO FOUNDATION TRUST
STATUS)?

FOREWORD
“ Welcome to this Spring edition of our newsletter. As
we head into May with a New government I am sure
the procurement fraternity will face many changes as
will the Health economy. In this issue we provide
updates on the new regulations and changes to our
own team along with a number of births - may be
future Procurement Directors I will need to watch my
back.


A fantastic piece of work with GS1 (unique
identification system) between the lines as we
continue to develop plans and strategies around
GS1 for the future.
We have some exciting staff changes and
movements and welcome some very
knowledgeable colleagues
joining us from
industry and other public bodies.

I have recently taken up the role of L&D Lead for
the Health Care Supplies Association (HCSA) and
would ask anyone who is not currently an HCSA
member to consider joining as the association
develops into a world class organisation bringing
real benefits to members.

Our Team also won Kindle Fires in the staff
Survey returns as we hit nearly 100% return rates
- Well done all!

We say goodbye to "Ted" the 'Del Boy' of SoEPS always keen to do a deal for his customers.




Ensure all procurements go via SoEPS (as all
team members have been fully trained in the
new Regulations and new approaches which
need to be adopted);
With more emphasis on developing SME’s (and
encouraging more use of local suppliers), the
Trust needs to continue to make SoEPS aware of
all intended short and longer term procurement
plans (and timetables for requirements so
adequate time can be spent on each project);
The key to successful procurement solutions will
be early market engagement, facilitated by
SoEPS to enable suppliers to support the Trust in
developing detailed (and competitive)
specifications of requirements;
The new regulations encourage procurements to
be divided in to Lots, engaging early with SoEPS
can help divide the service requirements in to
Lots and also encourage more innovative
solutions from specialist suppliers;
All opportunities for suppliers to participate in
tendering for contracts worth over £25k will be
advertised on SoEPS website and subsequent
award detail.
I finish this with a prediction that procurement will take
a significant step forward and change in the months
ahead as the 'Carter Metrics' come to life with a
fundamental change in the way Procurement is
delivered as we enter 2016/17 and beyond.
My final note is the charities described in our
newsletter exhibit heart rendering stories and I would
ask that we do as much as we can to support them.
Enjoy spring and I look forward to sharing some more
views in the summer edition.”
Alan Hoskins
Director of Procurement & Commercial Services
Please email your thoughts, comments,
contributions — info@soeprocurement.nhs.uk
ideas
or
WELL DONE
To all those who have taken the first part of their Level
3 Diploma in Procurement and Supply and best of luck
for the second half of the exams in May.
Congratulations to all those passing their exams and
continuing on their path to Chartered Institute of
Procurement & Supply MCIPS. Well done and keep up
the good work – it will be worth it in the end!
Page 3
CHARITY BEGINS AT WORK..
SPRING IS IN THE AIR AT
SOEPS...
Over the last year, SoEPS staff have enjoyed
purchasing books through a book club that visits our
site bi-monthly. Through the purchase of books, we
are offered one free book with each visit and as a
team we began a collection of children’s books.
Having gathered a fair number, we decided that it
would be nice to donate the books in time for
Christmas to a local charity and we therefore made
contact with the Care Team at Naomi House and
Jack’s Place. These are hospices that support families
from seven counties in southern England – Hampshire,
Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Surrey, West Sussex and
the Isle of Wight.
Naomi House is a purpose built children’s hospice that
provides a homely environment to children and young
people with life-limiting conditions, offering
individualised specialist care and much needed respite
for the whole family, supporting through the good
days, difficult days and last days.
As an organisation we all felt it was a very worthy
cause and will continue to support for the next few
years.
Charlotte Golby from the Provider Team and her fiancé
Lawrence will be getting married on 1st May 2015 at
Romsey Registry office. They are also expecting their
first child on the 19th June 2015. The wedding will be a
small affair with family present. They are very much
looking forward to starting married life and excited
about the birth of their first child. Congratulations from
everyone!
CONGRATULATIONS TO PAUL AND MARIA!
Paul Allen (Supply Chain) just announced his
engagement to girlfriend Maria. Paul and Maria
originally met at St James Hospital back in 2008 when
Paul was meant to be working and clearly was ‘brushing
up on his Communication and Customer Relationship
Skills’.
Paul and Maria now share a love of running, dogs and
holidays. They got engaged on the 15th March 2015 in
Orlando, Florida and plan to marry some time next
year.
N EW B ABY
The Naomi House Care Team were thrilled with our
donation and a representative of the charity visited us
at Hedge End, to collect the books.
Read more at http://www.naomihouse.org.uk/
Congratulations to Keith Myhill
(Commissioned
Healthcare)
and his partner Lara who
recently
completed
their
family with the birth of their
son Thomas Jack Paul on 20th
January 2015 weighing in at a
healthy 6lb 4oz.
Thomas is doing very well and
already weighs a strapping
12lb 9oz!
Page 4
Procurement - Legal Updates
Bio

Work is underway to determine the future
potential operating model for procurement
and supply management in the NHS. This
includes the activities being undertaken by NHS
Supply Chain. This work is currently in a
research phase, with activity focused on
reviewing models and best practice within the
NHS and from other healthcare systems and
sectors. (CCS Source).

Purdah started on the 25th March and will last
until the 7th of May; procurement exercises
can still be carried out as normal, however we
will need to remain politically impartial at all
times and ensure that public resources are not
being used for party political purposes. Award
notices to highlight controversial contracts that
involve service redesign, shall be kept from
publication until after purdah.

New NHS tariff will not be published on the 1st
April 2015, so we will need to wait and see
what Monitor’s next steps are. Meanwhile
existing
“National tariff payment system
2014/15” will apply.

The New Public Contracts Regulations entered
into effect on the 26th February 2015, this
regulation transpose EU Directive in Public
Procurement into UK law. Some important
points are highlighted below:
Natalia Rojas—Deputy Head of
Procurement: Governance &
Legal. Natalia is a qualified
lawyer with experience in both
the public and private sectors.
2015 Updates
2015 is going to be a year full of changes and
challenges that will mark a new era for the healthcare
system, notably in the way goods and services are to
be purchased;. These changes will be marked by the
new EU Public Contracts Regulations entering into
effect and by the upcoming elections in May and
SoEPS will be ready to take this new journey with
you.




2014 laid down the foundations that will house
this new Financial year. Full details on how the
2014 concrete was laid are contained within
SoEPS briefing note “The year on Legal
updates” available on request.
NHS England Published in January “Managing
conflicts of interest: statutory guidance for
CCGs” which sets out new responsibilities for
CCGs in the safeguarding of primary care
contracting and procurement decision making.
SoEPS is preparing guidance defining Conflicts
of Interest and how to manage them, to align
to this guidance.
In March 2015, NHS England announced that
CCGs will, as of the 1st April 2015, be taking on
Joint Commissioning of Primary Medical
Services. Constitutional amendments have
been agreed and Terms and Conditions have
been signed by some of the CCGs. Special
attention has been made surrounding Conflicts
of Interest, as CCGs may now commission
services which GPs currently provide.
GS1 and PEPPOL adoption will allow the NHS
for the first time, to consistently, reliably and
efficiently identify products, patients and place.
This in turn will generate improvements in
patient safety as well as financial and
operational efficiency whilst reducing wastage
for trusts across the NHS (CCS Source).

Commissioning healthcare will not be
subject to the new rules until 1st April
2016 to allow parliament to review
existing Procurement, Patient Choice
and Competition Regulations.

More flexibility has been introduced to
procurement.

New rules, not determined in the
Directive, will be imposed for under EU
Thresholds.

As part of the new reforms NHS trusts
continue to be classed as ‘central
government authorities’ and this
represents no change to their status
under
previous
procurement
regulations. Foundation Trusts are
classed as sub-central authorities and
as such, are subject to different
financial thresholds in relation to the
application of the Regulations and have
the option to use the Prior Information
Notice (PIN) as the call for competition.
Page 5

New rights of termination are required
by the Public Contracts Regulations
2015 and will be introduced on NHS
terms and Conditions and on the NHS
Standard Contract

SoEPS has prepared a briefing note on main changes,
which is available on request. We are also undertaking
training sessions for our teams and will also make
available training sessions for our Clients. If you are
interested in taking part in this training sessions please
contact us

The Health & Social Care Information Centre
has issued a new Code of Practice, which is
designed to provide recommended practice for
organisations who collect, analyse, publish or
disseminate confidential information. Also,
Parliament has published a note that sets out
current arrangements for accessing and sharing
confidential patient information. The note
describes the legislation governing patient
access to medical records, and how access to
records is limited for relatives or in the case of
deceased patients.
The New NHS Standard Contract 2015/2016 has
been published together with its guidance. SoEPS
would like to bring to your attention the
procurement process and how the Standard
Contract shall be contained within the tender
documentation. Particulars shall be completed
and provided from the outset, so that all
contractual conditions are communicated to the
providers and ensure that once the contract has
been awarded, it can be signed with the least
amount of discussion possible, which could
ultimately threaten the service commencement
date and may put service continuity at risk.
Service Conditions and general Conditions are not
subject to change but they would also be part of
the tender documents.
As you can see more exciting time await us. If you would
like more information on any of this news or any other
Procurement or legal questions please contact Natalia
at natalia.rojas@soeprocurement.nhs.uk or on the
01489 779182
Don’t Buy it...Try eSwap
instead!
The SoEPS eSwap, it’s a great page that allows you to advertise, or browse for reusable items
that are simply too good to throw away. If you haven’t already visit the page at http://pht/
Departments/procurement/eSwap/default.aspx. On the Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust intranet site.
The page is easy to use, good for the environment and best of all it is free to use. Simply email your picture and
details to disposals@soeprocurement.nhs.uk
The adverts on the page offer everything from furniture and electrical items to books, toys and exercise equipment.
It can be a great place to find something that you might need and items are offered as free to collector.
All you need to do is browse the page and if there is anything
that you are interested in, you’ll find the owners contact details
in the advert simply get in contact. If you can’t find what you are
looking for you can submit a ‘wanted’ ad.
COMING SOON !
IOW Trust eSwap Version
Email: waste@iow.nhs.uk
Equally, if you are having a clear out and have perfectly good
reusable items and you want to pass them on to a good home,
you can put an advert on the eSwap site. All you need to do is fill
in the submission form, attach a photo if you’ve got one and your advert will appear on the site. With a bit of luck
you will see some interest very soon.
This is a brilliant way to pass on reusable items, especially if they are bulky and you don’t have the means to get
them to the recycling centre. Remember, you don’t have to advertise as free to collector you can ask for a swap
instead.
Visit the SoEPS eSwap page and get swapping!
HCSA: What is it and why should I join?



The Health Care Supply Association (HCSA) was
established in 1960, in order to reflect the interests of
supply and procurement staff.
Today the Association has come a long way in
promoting the work of supply chain staff at all levels
in healthcare; its purpose and objective is aimed at
supporting the personal and professional development
of its members and the NHS procurement profession.
The HCSA provides training events and educational
seminars, sponsors awards and hosts a very highprofile annual conference; it is entirely self-financed
through a combination of income from
these
conferences and seminars and other training events
and advertising.
The administration of the Association and
organisation of events is undertaken by ‘Council’
which consists of Regional Co-ordinators and other
officers of the Association such as the Chair and
Treasurer.
Page 6
Maintaining strong links with suppliers and
relevant industry bodies
Delivering its annual PDP aimed at the
development of emerging procurement talent
Providing a platform to contribute as a single
voice regarding policies & professional issues
In addition to the above, members gain access to a
number of other benefits which include:













Website providing access to members only
information
Online research and questionnaires allowing
sharing of best practice
Single professional voice to supplier and
contactor marketplace
Online discussion forum
Regular e-newsletter
Access to the Association’s training and
development study days
Copy of the Association’s Procurement Guide
Preferential rates for Association events
Online help and advice service
Upcoming and key events diary
Daily updated health news desk and updated
health reports (via website)
Access to membership of Special Interest
Groups (SIGs) aligned to members’ needs
Organised social events
The role of Council is to effectively use the funds
available to provide members with a scope of
networking, training and educational opportunities as
part of their on-going professional development whilst
ensuring the sustainability of funding is maintained.
Membership is free and open to all purchasing and
supply professionals within the healthcare sector.
The HCSA is also closely affiliated with the Chartered
Institute of Purchasing and Supply (CIPS),
The Association delivers the following:

Providing members with access to national and
regional networks of procurement professionals

Delivering conferences, training events and
seminars

Organising and sponsoring awards to recognise
educational and professional achievement

Working with the Chartered Institute of
Purchasing & Supply and other professional
bodies
So if you aren’t already signed up, do so today… with
all these benefits for free what are you waiting for?!!
Read the HCSA Procurement Development
Programme 2015
Why not join?: https://nhsprocurement.org.uk/
register
CEO Awards Kindle Tablets to SoEPS Staff
Page 7
Portsmouth
Hospitals
NHS Trust Chief executive
Ursula Ward made a
surprise visit to SoEPS
Hedge
End
offices
recently to make a
presentation to two of
our Staff.
Chloe Thompson (Senior
Buyer), and Sacha Darke
(Procurement Manager)
were both surprised
when the busy CEO
Ursula Ward turned up at
our Hedge End offices
and presented them with
New Kindle Fire tablets
for winning the 2014 Staff Survey Returns draw. Chloe tells us that “ She seemed friendly and really down to earth
chatting to me about what I did here at SoEPS. We were both really nervous but she made us feel very much at ease”.
Following a walkabout to say hello and before leaving for her next appointment the CEO spoke to staff ‘promising to
come back’ and spend some more time with staff .
Ted’s retirement
Edward “Ted” Jenks, Operational Team Leader is
retiring in May 2015 after 13.5 years working at South
of England Procurement Services.
Ted started his NHS career in 2001, working for us as a
Supplies Assistant in the buying office for a 6 month
period covering Maternity Leave. It was noticed very
early on that Ted would be a major asset to the team
and was appointed on a permanent basis at the very
first opportunity.
Ted has progressed through many various roles within
the team and currently as the Operational Team
Leader he has responsibility for our buying team; he is
highly respected by the whole team who know that
Ted can come up with the right answers and often
sorts problems with suppliers when all hope seems to
have faded!
In Ted’s long and varied career he has covering many
roles within the private sector, ranging from
Accountancy to Stores and working in multiple and
varied locations around the UK.
We would all like to take this opportunity to wish Ted a
long, relaxing and happy retirement.
HE WILL DESERVEDLY BE MISSED BY US ALL !!
A SoEPS commentary on Solent NHS Trust
V Hampshire County Council
Page 8
be awarded on the basis of "the most economically
advantageous tender"
The evaluation model was a mixture of quality and
scope which was to attract 90% of the available
marking and only 10% was to relate to price.
The evaluation of price was as follows:
The highest overall bid price was to receive a score
of 0%
Background
The tender documents also specified the following:
Until 31 March 2015, Hampshire County Council (the
Council) had a contract with Solent NHS Trust (Solent)
since April 2011 to provide a community based
specialist adult treatment service, an inpatient drug
and alcohol detoxification service and a specialist
carers support service. This contract was initially for
two years and it was extended for a further two years.
Solent’s current contract expired on 31 March 2015,
therefore, continuity of service may be affected if the
Court were to maintain a suspension order on the new
contract.
“The winning tenderer will be the one which:

Obtains a Pass for Price and Cost; and

Obtains a Pass for all Pass/Fail Award
Criteria; and

Obtains the highest combined score of the
written submission, and price and cost
weighted questions of all tenders, provided
they score at least 50% of the available marks
each questionnaire…Should no provider reach
this minimum we reserve the right not to
proceed any further with the tender.”
The Council advertised the opportunity on a notice in
the Official Journal of the European Union on 25 June
2014. The advertised contract would be for three years
with an optional two-year extension. Three bidders pre
-qualified and were subsequently invited to tender.
The debrief information provided, identified that the
top scoring provider had scored a total of 55% ( 0%
on Price and Cost) and that Solent had scored
46.24% (8.99% on Price and Cost).
After evaluation of the tenders the contract was
awarded to the top scoring provider, Solent being the
second top scoring and therefore unsuccessful on the
procurement process. This was communicated to the
bidders on a Stand Still letter sent by the Council.
Subsequently Solent challenged the award decision
based on breach of the Public Contracts Regulations
2006 (as amended) to the broad effect that the Council
"failed to act transparently, fairly and in a
proportionate manner, rationally and in accordance
with the principles of equal treatment, proportionality
and good administration, failed to identify the most
economically advantageous tender and/or was
manifestly wrong in its evaluation".
Tender evaluation
The Invitation to Tender set out a timetable which
envisaged the notification of the contract award
decision as being 12 November 2014. The "Tender
Evaluations Model" identified that the contract would
Below you can find a question and evaluation of
Solent’s response as an example:
“Question: Please describe your organisational
approach to clinical governance, quality assurance
and improvement.
As part of your answer please submit details of your
governance and assurance framework and explain
how this supports your approach in relation to the
service outlined in the specification with reference to:
a)
b)
c)
d)
clinical governance
quality assurance
performance & service improvement
clinical & cost effectiveness.
Evaluation rationale: "The tenderer makes no
reference to NICE quality standards or Drug Misuse
and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical
Management although NICE is referenced.
Reference is made to a quality improvement strategy.
Although references are made to information
management, there are no references to information
governance.”
Page 9
The response demonstrates that
service users are consulted but not that they are
engaged at all levels.
“Evaluation:
There is no reference to the involvement of
commissioners.
The tenderers [sic] answer focuses on practitioner
level performance management rather than a
strategic level approach."
Solent NHS Trust Position
Solent complained that the Council had unfairly
favoured the winning bid by "allocating significantly
higher quality scores to the top scoring provider
relative to those granted to [Solent's] tender without
proper grounds for doing so" and that the Council had
failed to follow the published award criteria and
scoring methodology or had applied undisclosed
criteria or methodologies. It also defended that the top
scoring provider should have been disqualified in effect
because it scored 0% on the Price and Cost.”
The Council’s Position
The Council argued that answers provided by Solent
ware unspecific, general and often not an answer to the
specified question.
Lessons learned
In order to ensure the Procurement requirements are
covered the evaluation criteria needs to be set up
clearly and the reasons to pass or fail the different
sections of the evaluation need to be clear an
unequivocal.
All evaluation criteria needs to be specified within the
Procurement regulations specify that contracts shall be
awarded on the basis of the criteria laid down in the
tender documents, therefore not disclosing the full
evaluation criteria will ultimately put in to question the
contracting authority’s compliance with the principle of
transparency.
As it has been demonstrated with this case, special
attention needs to be paid to the recording of the
rationale behind the scores allocated to the tender
response. Evaluators need to make clear what the
rationale for their evaluation of a response is when they
evaluate the tender and make sure such rationale is
linked to the question asked, the evaluation criteria and
the tenderers specific response.
Evaluators shouldn’t expect to find tender responses
containing elements that have not been specified or
asked for and shall make clear what the evaluation
criteria is before evaluating tender responses.
Conclusion
The order to suspend the contract was lifted by the
judge based on the need for service continuity which
means the procurement process cannot be re-run. The
Court considered that Solent’s answers are not
“immensely informative”, but it did not enter into the
Council’s evaluation of Solent’s bid as it would need to
consider the question and context in which they were
written, the specification , the word count limitation
imposed by the ITT, and the top scoring provider
answers. The Court considered then that it was not in a
position that the case on breach is strong or weak.
Solent is still proceeding to claim damages as it
considers the Council has breached procurement
regulations on their evaluation of the bids.
Proceeding to claim damages against the Council’s
award decision will be started in October which will
determine if the Council breached procurement
regulations. If Solent were to be successful, they could
obtain an award of damages for the lost profits on the
anticipated contract and/or its wasted bid costs. We will
have to wait for the outcome, watch this space!
A full copy of the case can be found at: http://
www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2015/457.html
documentation, therefore if there are model answers or
elements that need to be responded to by the bidders,
this needs to be disclosed within the Evaluation Model
as it would be likely to affect the tender response which
will ultimately be reflected on the final contract if the
bidder is successful.
For further detail on this or related matters contact:
Natalia Rojas natalia.rojas@soeprocurement.nhs.uk
Tel:
01489 779182
Spotlight on mr. Rob Cox
Rob joined SoEPS Provider
Team in October 2014,
though some might suggest
it seems an awful lot longer.
I work quietly or in absolute
silence in the Strategic
Team and I’m known for
keeping my head down and
my thoughts to myself. It’s
as if I was trained by Monks
with an overzealous execution of their vow of silence.
However, in the odd moment when I decide to
convey my thoughts, it’s in the capacity of a self
acknowledged authority on just about everything and
well worth listening to.
My career made me the most mind boggling choice to
work in procurement and I must assume that Emma
[Fullwood] and Susan [Brooks] were heavily sedated
when they interviewed me.
My career began with British Shipbuilding as an
Apprentice Electrician at the River Clyde. The four
years I spent learning my craft have remained with
me to this day, as a psychiatrist might say “some days
he is clinically depressed and other days he’s much
worse than that”.
Rob became a qualified Electrician and after 2 years
was appointed as an Electrical Test Engineer, a role
that saw him make the most significant change that
can be made in a shipyard, hanging up his blue boiler
suit for a brown one, marking his ascent into
management. His joy was however short lived as his
father was the senior shop steward and the Electrical
Trades Union Secretary, making meal times a
spectator sport.
“..working for a company he
says he could barely spell ...”
The day that they decided that the United Kingdom
needed neither ships, shipyards nor shipyard workers,
his forensic insightfulness came to the fore and he
decided that it was time for a change of career.
At the time IBM were on a recruitment drive and he
found himself working for a company he says he
could barely spell let alone knew what they did.
Within a very short space of time, Rob realised that
the prospects of placing the ‘F’ button onto a
Page 10
keyboard 5 days a week would end badly and so he
decided that his future lay in another country,
England.
“..he stresses “merely a coincidence”,
that IBM planned to sell off the
Personal Computer Division ..“
After relocating to Hampshire in December 1986
and starting another career in Inventory
Management, part of IBM’s renowned Global
Supply Chain. It was at this time that he recognised
the infinite power of data and so began his deep
love affair with all things analytical and without any
previous experience or knowledge, redesigned,
developed and deployed a Supply : Demand
Planning tool called PC Driver that was the envy of
absolutely no one in particular.
Rob says “I looked after all the accessories IBM sold
with their Personal Computers and moved into the
newly formed Unit where I moved eventually
through Sales Operations Manager, then onto
North Region Operations Manager responsible for
the UK, Ireland, South Africa and The Netherlands”.
The key responsibility in this role was to try and
make sense of the Sales forecasts (aka advanced
guessing), and produce revenue, profit and unit
sales forecasts for his European and World Wide
Executives.
IBM’s Sales School is legendary and everyone
graduating had been drilled in the skill of using an
extensive vocabulary for the sole purpose of telling
you very little of what you needed to know. Rob
says “I had been exposed to the phenomena
known as Style over Content. In effect IBM’s Sales
School were producing loquacious sesquipedalians
at a tremendous rate”.
It was during this time, but he stresses “merely a
coincidence”, that IBM planned to sell off the
Personal Computer Division to a Chinese Computer
maker called Legend, and in 2005, Lenovo was
born. Rob was TUPE’d across to Lenovo as Sales
Operations Manager, then promoted to EMEA
Transformation Manager, then UK Business
Operations Director. After 4 years he left the IT
business for what he thought was for good only to
start a consultancy business working with Avnet
I was invited back to IBM for what the hiring
Page 11
manager confidently and robustly predicted would only be a 3 month secondment which in real
terms turned into 3 year secondment as a Compliance Manager. At the end of my 3rd year Integritie came
knocking and I joined as Sales Operations Manager and moved into the world of Content Management and
Social Media turning me off Facebook & Twitter for a long time. In conclusion, he say “I can’t seem to hold a
good job down !”
His personal interests are wide and varied or as wide and varied as his wife allows them to be.
At a young age he decided to join the local Brass Band (nothing to do with the plumbers union) and embarked
on a musical career that saw him play under the Musical Directorship of Derek
Broadbent, the man responsible for the Floral Dance with the World Famous
“..the man responsible
Brighouse and Rastrick Brass Band at the time when some unknown called
for the Floral Dance ..“ Paul McCartney released Mull of Kintyre.
Rob says “I changed material and moved from brass to pig skin and had 4 years playing congas and an array of
‘toys’ in a 10–piece band called Resurrection and my rhythmic drumming with my hands continues to this day,
much to the annoyance of anyone within earshot.” Whilst all of this was going on, he also found time to became
a practitioner of Martial Arts (Shotokai style) which earned him the moniker ‘The Ginger Ninja’.
He closes by remarking how fortunate he has been, married to the same long suffering woman for 32 years and
blessed with 2 beautiful girls who he proudly dotes on unreservedly.
WELCOME TO EDD
Following an inspirational message from a speaker
who stated “add value to your life at all times because
come what may the time will pass by” I opted to
pursue a Master’s and subsequently a CIPS
qualification, to better my prospects and the UK
became the destination to do so.
After completing my postgraduate and achieving
MCIPS, I worked with a University in London for 2
years, before moving to Portsmouth to work with the
Local Authority and now SoEPS. I’m proud to say this
new role with SoEPS excites me. I’m really driven, not
just to do great things for myself, but to spur my team
on to even greater things.
My name is Edward Baah-Owusu. I grew up in Ghana
Accra, in West coast of Africa, the eldest of five
siblings. After graduating with distinction I then chose
a large education institution further from home than
the small private college my parents hoped I’d attend.
I just wanted to be ‘a small fish in a big pond’ for a
change.
After three years studying, I immigrated to Germany to
further my career at Niederrhein University of Applied
Sciences a German university in Mönchengladbach.
(formerly known as München Gladbach) .
After a handful of jobs that paid the bills right out of
University, I finally went to work for a large car
manufacturing firm. There I continued the trend of just
meeting my potential, only taking on new challenges
when someone brought it to my attention that I’d be
perfect for the opportunity.
Despite a lifetime of often falling short of my own true
potential, I’ve always held on to a quote by the writer
James Baldwin:
“The world is before you, and you need not take it or
leave it as it was when you came in.”
That always sounded like something I wanted to do. I
just never knew how. Though I never saw myself as
one with a family.
Edd had always assumed he’d never have children
but.. before he knew what had happened, this
externally motivated, single-for-life, independent
career guy was a happy dad, proudly boasting of a son
and a daughter .
Nice to meet you to Edd !
RECORD SAVINGS ACHIEVED IN
Page 12
2014/15
Provider Team Achievements
Both Portsmouth Hospitals and the Isle of Wight
NHS Trust have over the past 12 months achieved a
record amount of savings generated from projects
led by NHS South of England Procurement Service.
We have achieved for Portsmouth a total of £4.8m
of which £3.5m of cash releasing savings (plus a
further £1.3m of cost avoidance savings), and for
the Isle of Wight this has been a further
£1,025m. These savings have helped contribute to
the financial position of the Trusts through
procurement
related
cost
improvement
plans. Other achievements of the team have
included:
 Provided procurement solutions for a range of
projects covering medical and non medical
consumables, replacement of equipment,
maintenance/licences, services (clinical and non
clinical), professional services, agency and
consultancy
 Active participation in the rationalisation
and
standardisation of medical consumables and
devices
 Encouraged the increased use of purchase order
activity, to ensure the Trust is protected with
appropriate NHS Terms and Conditions for all
expenditure
 Developed catalogues and inventory management
systems for efficient stock replenishment
 Led on Capital Equipment Schemes
 Led on the Procurement for major Trust specific
projects (e.g. for PHT – VitalPac, Hospital@Night,
Healthcare at Home. IOW - Strategic Estates
Partnership and Carbon Energy Funded Project for
Heat, Light and
Power)
 Negotiated key performance indicators for major
service contracts
 Provision of a Contracts Database, flagging up
to
the Trust lead when agreements are
due for
renewal so renegotiations can be proactively
managed
 Benchmarking of prices, sharing best practice
identified nationally for performance specifications
and detailed spend analysis of major Categories
 Contributor to Trust specific Strategies, Policies and
Procedures related to Procurement
“Bitesize” Procurement Training available for all Budget
holders, introduction of Procurement Champions to
“signpost” colleagues within the Trust on procurement
Page 13
solutions available
When developing your business plans or ways of
delivering your Cost Improvement Plans for 15/16,
please ensure that you engage with your
Procurement Lead who will guide you through the
procurement processes, ensure any savings
opportunities are realised and advise on the most
efficient and effective ways of identifying the
preferred supplier.
For further information about how you can utilise the
expertise of the Procurement Service further, please
contact:


PHT Procurement Lead:
neil.routledge@soeprocurement.nhs.uk
IOW Procurement Lead:
sara.white@soeprocurement.nhs.uk
Advertising all Contract Opportunities over £25k
Following the 2013 White Paper Better Procurement,
Better Value, Better Care, in March 2015 the
Department of Health issued a new Policy in relation
to Procurement Transparency, applicable to all NHS
Trusts and FT’s to open up more opportunities for
competition between suppliers and ensuring
confidentiality and non disclosure of commercially
sensitive information. The drivers of the policy are
to:

Encourage Small to Medium size organisations
to apply to public sector
procurement opportunities

Identify savings opportunities by making future
purchasing opportunities visible

Provide transparency of how the public money
is being spent
The benefits of this approach will be:
1.
To encourage and increase competition and
grow markets
2.
To inspire greater innovation
3.
Leading to better value for money from the
public purse
The requirements on all Public Sector Procurement
Departments are to ensure that all potential
opportunities and subsequent award of contracts
with a value over £25k are advertised on the
Contracts Finder portal.
What you can do to help?
1.
2.
Ensure that all spend goes through the
Procurement Department so this can be
captured and any appropriate confidentiality
checks put in place
Ensure any goods/services provided to the
Trust by any supplier MUST have a requisition
and subsequent purchase order placed before
committing the business to the supplier
For further information
Procurement Lead.
please
contact
your
Jeanette from the Central Development Team tells us she’s had an
impressive experience ...
Jeanette speaking at the March Team Brief —
“I took part in the “Perfect Patient Pathway” (PPP) at the QAH during a week in
January 2015. PPP was set up to see if they could improve the amount of patient
discharges in a day to free up beds and reduce bed waiting times.
I have to say, I went into the week with a fair amount of trepidation as I had no
idea what to expect, the first day was very much trial and error as I had had no
instruction or any clue of what to do! However, after a very confusing first day it got a lot better.
Originally I was assigned to Ward C6, but by the end of the week I was also
covering 2 additional wards. All Ward Liaison Officers (WLO’s) such as me, had to shadow the senior nursing staff,
Dr’s and Consultants on their daily board rounds, any possible discharges were then flagged and the WLO’s would
report any delays in discharges to silver command, who would then do everything in their power to make the
discharge run smoothly. The whole experience was an eye opener for me, it showed me what true dedication and
caring was all about. The staff on all wards I worked on were truly amazing and this was an experience I was glad I
did not miss. “
Jeanette Corless
Assistant Procurement Administrator
THE YASMIN CALDERA TRUST
Page 14
want to set up a non profit making charity. "The
Yasmin Caldera Trust" will support local cardiac
issues in the Portsmouth and Chichester areas. To
apply to the Charities Commission for charitable
status and a registered number, we need to raise
£5000. Once we have a registered charity number we
will be able to collect Gift Aid donations on all further
fund raising activities in the future. This is worth 25%
if sponsors are UK tax payers so is very beneficial.
Why do we care about this project?
Nicky Caldera, a Theatres Practitioner ODP (pictured
2nd left) at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Theatres is
campaigning to start a fledgling charity, The Yasmin
Caldera Trust in support of people getting screened for
undiagnosed heart problems after her 18-year-old
daughter Yasmin tragically died last July from a hidden
heart defect.
Nicky’s daughter, Yasmin, died in her sleep from an
undiagnosed cardiac condition, aged 18. Structurally,
her heart was perfect but she had a conductivity
“..She’s left a massive, massive
hole in our family..”
There were no warning signs and nothing to suggest
anything was wrong. “It’s just so devastating to lose a
child at 18 who is fit and healthy,” said Nicky. “You read
about it in the paper – all those people who drop down
at rugby matches – but you don’t hear about the ones
that die in their sleep. She’s left a massive, massive hole
in our family. We all miss her so much”
Nicky is trying to ensure other young people and their
families do not have to go through what her family has.
The Yasmin Caldera Trust, a charity Nicky and her
family are hoping to set up to prevent other young
people dying from hidden heart problems.
As well as working to raise awareness of the
importance of screening, it will also look to get
defibrillators more readily available at sporting fixtures.
prevent other young people dying
from hidden heart problems
“We’re looking to see what we can do to so no other
family has to go through this,” Nicky said.
What's the problem we're trying to
solve?
Nicky and colleagues need to raise £5000 because I
problem. Nicky says “were all completely unaware of
this. She had no symptoms, she wasn't breathless,
dizzy or having palpitations. Her condition could have
been diagnosed and more importantly, treated. To
lose a child to Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome is
devastating. We want to prevent other families from
experiencing such catastrophic loss and pain”.
How will the money be spent?
£5000 needs to be raised to set her charity up. That
isn't the cost of setting it up, it's just the amount the
Charities Commission states is needed before we can
apply to become a charity. Once charitable status is
granted, the money will be used to fund defibrillators
for sports and social clubs. Hopefully it will be up and
running by early summer.
South of England Procurement Services and
Associates are fully supporting this worthwhile
fledgling charity and would urge you to do whatever
you can to support The Yasmin Caldera Trust.
Further details from :
http://soeprocurement.nhs.uk/the-yasmin-calderatrust/
This newsletter is intended to provide information only, this document is not a substitute for procurement or legal advice. All reasonable measures have been taken to ensure the quality and accuracy of the
information. This newsletter has been prepared carefully and in good faith, the South of England Procurement services is not liable for any errors, costs or losses arising from use of this newsletter or the
information contained herein.