Public Sector Resourcing- New GPS Allied Health Professionals and Health Science Services Procurement Must Balance Cost-control with Quality

REC Healthcare has today issued a note to members informing them of the imminent launch of the Government Procurement Service (GPS) procurement exercise for the supply of temporary and fixed term Allied Health Professionals and Health Science Services staff. GPS is the executive agency of the Cabinet Office tasked with providing procurement savings for the UK public sector as a whole and specifically to deliver centralised procurement for central government departments.

GPS will shortly be issuing a tender through the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) in order to set up a new framework agreement on the supply of temporary Allied Health Professionals and Health Science Services staff. The framework is mainly for NHS bodies but will also be available to other public sector organisations. It will provide cover for the existing NHS Agenda for Change pay scale bands and job sub-families.

Chris Wilford, the REC's Policy Advisor on healthcare explained:

“We continue to lead discussions about best practice within frameworks across the health space. Our work on compliance and driving standards throughout the supply chain is leading the way.” 

“This new procurement procedure must not jeopardise safety in order to reduce cost. A strong focus on quality and viable opportunities for SMEs- in line with Government commitments in this area- has to be part of any procurement strategy to build sustainable supply chains that deliver value for public services.”

Please click here for the GPS announcement of the tender.

The GPS procurement exercise is independent of recent resourcing initiatives such as the Health Trust Europe and London Procurement Programme (LPP) Allied Health Professionals and Health Science Services staff procurement exercise.

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