NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has unveiled the third iteration of its construction consultancy framework agreement.
The £1.6bn Healthcare Planning, Construction Consultancy and Ancillary Services (HPCCAS) framework is said to offer the health service a compliant and cost-effective approach to procurement.
The framework enables health leaders to access a map of 179 carefully vetted suppliers in the construction sector and features 11 different service types, including:
- Architectural Services
- Project Management
- Civil & Structural Engineering
- Quantity Surveyor
- Mechanical, Electrical and Public Health Services
- Principal Designer Services
- Multidisciplinary Services
- Building Surveyors
- Healthcare Planning
- Net Zero, Environmental Consultancy & Sustainability
- Ancillary Services
NHS SBS highlights, among other things, contract flexibility, cost certainty and the sheer range of suppliers all as benefits of leveraging the free-to-use framework.
With NHS figures indicating that the backlog of estate repairs is now north of £10bn, NHS SBS outlines how the new agreement can help health leaders build back better as the government continues to unravel its New Hospital Programme plan.
NHS SBS’s senior category manager for construction and infrastructure, Melissa King, said: "To cater for regionalised procurement, 78% of the suppliers appointed are small to medium sized enterprises, sitting alongside larger multi-disciplinary (tier 1) suppliers.”
She continued: "Previous iterations of the framework agreement have achieved 10-15% savings. With £1.6bn expected spend via it over the next four years, the HPCCAS framework agreement has the potential to achieve public sector savings of up £240m."
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