NHS Keynote Presentation – PSC LIVE London Global Summit

At Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE London Global Summit, Jacqui Rock, Chief Commercial Officer at NHS England, brought enthusiasm to the stage as she delved into the challenges and opportunities facing procurement within the NHS.  

Highlighting the need to modernise processes, she outlined a vision for transforming commercial practices to deliver better value, innovate procurement and ultimately improve patient care.  

Jacqui, who oversees NHS procurement and an annual £30bn spend, shares how they must leverage “the NHS influence and scale to strengthen partnerships, foster healthy supply markets and unlock benefits for innovation.”

This responsibility, she explains, spans everything from simple supplies like paperclips to critical medical equipment such as MRI scanners and even facility management on a scale as vast as cleaning an area equivalent to Gibraltar daily.  

Addressing inefficiencies in procurement  

In her keynote, Jacqui explores inefficiencies that have historically plagued NHS procurement. 

With “over 1200 frameworks” in use, some duplicating categories like furniture, she stresses the need for rationalisation. 

“They did call me the Grim Reaper of frameworks,” she jokes, emphasising the importance of consolidating buying processes to achieve value for money.  

She shares an example of introducing unified NHS-wide contracts for energy procurement. This move generated savings of £100m annually, achieved through collaborative decision-making across trusts.

“I used to call it the Wild West of buying,” she remarks, illustrating how centralised efforts and shared resources can enhance efficiency.  

Another success was the audit of mobile phone contracts across trusts. Jacqui highlights how they recovered “90,000,000 in six months from contracts that either the person's left or no one's using it and this is not okay.”

Digitalisation: The cornerstone of reform  

Jacqui highlights digital transformation as pivotal to modernising NHS procurement. 

A key milestone was the adoption of a unified e-commerce platform.

“For the first time in 76 years, I can look at any piece of space and I can look at our pipeline,” she states. 

While acknowledging that the NHS is behind private sector standards, she emphasises the importance of innovation through tools like AI and digital patient records.  

Jacqui also explores cutting-edge advancements, citing virtual reality technology for neurosurgeons.

“Our surgeons wear headsets and it's like looking into somebody while they're performing the surgery,” she says, adding that this technology has enabled groundbreaking surgeries such as the separation of conjoined twins in Turkey.  

However, she acknowledges funding as a significant challenge, often competing with frontline care priorities. 

Despite this, she emphasises the importance of investment and highlights the need to “work with what we've got, start building and making sure we get the right products in.”

A call for collaborative reform  

The NHS faces unprecedented challenges, including aging facilities, long-term conditions and the lingering effects of the pandemic. 

Jacqui addresses these realities head-on, referencing the Lord Darzi review and the proposed ten-year reform plan. 

This strategy focuses on three core shifts: moving care from hospitals to communities; transitioning from analogue to digital systems; and prioritising prevention over treatment.  

Concluding with optimism, Jacqui remarks: “There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic." But she also emphasises that the NHS has "got to reform.”

Jacqui's leadership has already laid the groundwork for transformative changes in procurement, proving that collaboration and innovation are key to driving meaningful progress.  

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• The Global Procurement & Supply Chain Awards | 24 September

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