16.07.19
NHS Midlands and Lancashire CSU earns CIPS procurement recogition
The NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit has earned recognition for the quality of its work after being awarded a standard level in the Procurement Excellence Programme (PEP) by the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS).
PEP is a globally-recognised award demonstrating how well organisations are performing with their procurement and supply chain activities. The award drives regular improvements, building a competitive edge and highlighting procurement’s role as a fundamental part of an organisation’s business and strategy.
As part of the NHS, Midlands and Lancashire CSU provides end-to-end support to integrated care systems, sustainability and transformation partnerships, clinical commissioning groups, hospital trusts and other public sector organisations.
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It employs more than 1600 staff and operates over a wide area covering Staffordshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Merseyside, Birmingham and Solihull, The Black Country, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin, Leicestershire, Worcestershire and Derbyshire.
The wide range of services offered by NHS Midlands and Lancashire CSU include procurement, transformation and service redesign, financial support, business intelligence, contract management, IT, continuing healthcare, human resources and medicines management.
The team undertook the programme to raise the profile of the work they do and also test their processes, policies, procedures and people against the global standard for procurement and supply management. A large proportion of the team are also either fully-qualified members of CIPS or working on CIPS qualifications.
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Alan Martin, head of procurement excellence at CIPS, said, “My congratulations and thanks go to the NHS Midlands and Lancashire CSU team for their hard work, dedication and tenacity to challenge their own systems and meet the challenges of the Procurement Excellence Programme.
“The team have a large remit and responsibility to support procurement across other departments, so we’re glad for their time and energy in making sure their activities are the best they can be.”
Head of procurement at NHS Midlands and Lancashire CSU, Beverley Thomas, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and everyone in the team should be extremely proud that we have secured this Procurement Excellence standard. The CIPS Accreditation process has been rewarding and reflective. It has made us a better procurement function and provided us with the rigour to explore areas for improvement and innovation.”