FOI Ref: 0238FOI1920

30^th March 2020

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information

We are pleased to respond to your request for information and our response is set out below:

Request/ Response

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to request the following information from [authority name/department]:

I am interested to know how;

1. decisions are made to procure a product or service in your organisation

As a Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) we are a clinically-led statutory NHS body responsible for the planning and commissioning of health care services for the local area. The CCG focuses on healthcare service provision and rarely procures products. Decisions relating to procuring services are made involving clinicians, commissioners, other professionals and often after public consultation.

2. how long it takes

The length of time to make procurement awards will depend on the circumstances e.g. how much the service will cost. If the CCG is procuring an existing service with little change to the requirement then this can be done in the short term e.g. from three weeks to three months. If it is a new service or the existing service is to be re-designed then this is a longer term project and could take up to a year

3. what is the process to present an innovative cost saving product/service

As explained in the response to the first question the CCG procures health care services and not usually products. When designing a health care service, research and consultation with stakeholders will be undertaken. Market engagement events are often held with potential providers so feedback can be gathered which can then be used in developing the service specification to enable it to both innovative and achieve value for money. Also outcome based service specifications are used to enable providers to innovate and to create better services which are tailored to the needs of service users.

4. and to whom to direct the communications

The procurement plan which details potential procurements for the year is published on the CCG website. When a decision to run a procurement is made the invitation to tender will usually be advertised in the :

Supplement to the OJEU http://simap.europa.eu/index_en.htm

ContractsFinder [1] https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

The procurement will be run using the Bravosolutions e-tendering portal: https://www.nhssourcing.co.uk/web/login