Working to make government more effective

Hybrid event

How can NHS procurement be improved?

The event explored how the NHS can minimise waste and learn lessons from the pandemic about improving procurement processes.

Panellists on stage at an event on NHS procurement.
IfG programme director Nick Davies (centre) was joined on stage by Patrick Parkin, Luella Trickett, David Hare and Jacqui Rock (left to right).

Watch the event

Listen to the event

The NHS spends over £30bn a year through procurement, on critical clinical services, medicines, equipment, IT, building maintenance, catering and cleaning. But does it spend this money well? During the pandemic questions were raised about value for money and transparency.

With NHS England recently creating a new central commercial function to coordinate the work of the more than 4,000 staff working on NHS procurement and supply chain, how can the NHS make the most of its collective buying power and ensure money isn’t wasted? What lessons can be learned from NHS procurement during the pandemic? How can the NHS create more resilient supply chains? What role can procurement play in tackling health inequalities and the NHS’s commitment to reach net zero by 2045? And how can the NHS take advantage of the changes proposed in the Procurement Bill?

To answer these questions, the Institute for Government convened an expert panel including:

  • Jacqui Rock, Chief Commercial Officer at NHS England 
  • David Hare, Chief Executive of the Independent Healthcare Providers Network
  • Patrick Parkin, Partner at Burges Salmon
  • Luella Trickett, Director, Value and Access at the Association of British HealthTech Industries

The event was chaired by Nick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

Follow us @ifgevents and join the conversation using #IfGprocurement.

We would like to thank Burges Salmon for supporting this event.

Burges Salmon logo

Our experts

Related content

22 APR 2020 Explainer

NHS procurement

The NHS buys a large amount of goods and services to enable it to run from day to day. This is called procurement.

14 MAR 2024 Project

Performance Tracker

Our flagship report assesses the comparative problems faced by critical public services such as the NHS, schools and the police.