Managing Directors from NHS Procurement in Partnership and Crown Commercial Service, David Skinner, Commercial Director, have come together to form the NHS Workforce Alliance, benefitting NHS trusts and public sector bodies.
The breadth of skills and experience, not just among the Managing Directors, but among the NHS Workforce Alliance teams from across the five partners means the NHS Workforce Alliance can offer expertise on a local and national level. To date the NHS Workforce Alliance has delivered frameworks, such as Flexible Resource Pool – Staff Bank, International Recruitment, Clinical and Healthcare Staffing, Non-Clinical Temporary and Fixed Term Staffing, and Workforce Support.
Alyson Brett, Managing Director at NHS Commercial Solutions, said: “We are committed to developing a whole portfolio of health workforce services, and the NHS Workforce Alliance is the embodiment of how important partnerships are. Our committed approach to working together and sharing our many years of experience has helped us to deliver a number of frameworks in key areas.”
Michael Pace, NHS London Procurement Partnership Managing Director, explains that the alliance offer is more than just frameworks, “ We are an NHS business partner, we work in close collaboration with other NHS organisations to develop carefully tailored workforce solutions. It is only through this collaborative approach and building strategic business partnerships with our customers that we can properly understand their needs and provide the most effective solutions. And we do so with the patient at the heart of everything we do.”
The executive team meets every month to provide ongoing strategic leadership and works closely with the teams on all critical projects – ensuring continuous focus on delivery and customer service, encouraging innovation, and building momentum.
Managing Director of NHS North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative Keith Rowley said: “The breadth of skills and experience among our teams across the five partners means that we can offer expertise on a local level and national level. As an alliance, we can use the expertise and relationships we have to influence decision-makers to create benefits on a local and national scale.”
With Howard Rolfe, Managing Director, NHS East of England Collaborative Procurement Hub, adding “Our customers and their patients are at the centre of everything we do, with our expertise, resource and geographical reach we are able to ensure our customers and suppliers have confidence in the service we deliver.”
This partnership approach to working not only raises the bar of the workforce services on offer but also looks for long term sustainable solutions.
Asked about where to next for the NHS Workforce Alliance, David Skinner, Commercial Director, Crown Commercial Service, said: “As an alliance, we work hard to listen to our customers to ensure that our service develops in line with changing conditions in the market, for example changes to operating models in hospitals with greater collaboration between NHS Trusts and the development of the ICS model. It is critical to our success that NHS is fully involved in designing and developing our products and services. We’re increasing our focus on that in the coming year, so please contact us if you are able to contribute in any way.”
To discuss how the NHS Workforce Alliance can support you, please contact your local NHS Workforce Alliance partner:
For more information, please contact your local procurement hub:
NHS Commercial Solutions
NHSCS.agency@nhs.net
East of England NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub
workforce@eoecph.nhs.uk
NHS London Procurement Partnership
lppworkforcesupport@lpp.nhs.uk
NHS North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative
enquiries@noecpc.nhs.uk
Crown Commercial Service
info@crowncommercial.gov.uk