FEATURE
important services also need to be taken care of.
Waste management, vehicle maintenance for ambulances and IT systems support are among the many contract opportunities that are available to tender. While they are extremely important jobs that must be carried out correctly, the impact upon patients is less direct and any issues in the service provided by a third party firm could be easier to spot before something goes wrong.
when their proposal gave the NHS faith in them to successfully provide care to patients.
When vetting each bid made by private firms during the tendering process, the NHS is now putting even more focus on the care history of each firm. Unfortunately this doesn’t come cheap. Finding a company that has a history of excellent care is of course a top priority for the NHS so it can’t just choose the most cost effective option. Can you really put a price on top care practice? Of course not.
The fact of the matter is, if the NHS wanted to keep everything under its own roof, standards of care would slip and the pressure staff would face would be astronomical. Outsourcing is a catch 22; it takes the pressure off, but it can cost a lot to find a high- quality alternative.
The Importance of
Outsourcing While there’s lots of coverage about top level health services being outsourced, we shouldn’t forget that less high-profile, but no less
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You may be quick to point out that this doesn’t necessarily relieve the pressure put on staff and waiting lists, but it could be the answer to balancing out the costs of high standard third party firms taking on NHS contracts. Local firms with a history of efficiently carrying out contracts could be employed to take some of the burden, which could be a cheaper option than issuing contracts to larger firms, without compromising on quality.
For example, if a local mechanics firm had the workforce available, they could tender for ambulance maintenance and be on hand in the local area for any emergency issues that may occur. Putting together a strong bid, with evidence of previous work held to a high standard, there’s nothing stopping smaller firms getting a slice of the NHS budget.
However, the one thing that may come between a local firm and a larger private firm is the bidding process itself. Private firms often have large teams behind them to acquire contracts, with expert bid managers who have vast experience of writing eye-catching bids. While you may have the skills to deliver a healthcare project, mistakes in your PQQ and written proposal could cost you dearly as there is no room for errors. Tendering experts, such as Thornton & Lowe, offer a lifeline to companies like this by monitoring the progress of each bid and ensuring
proposals meet the high standards expected by the NHS.
No Room for Error As mentioned, the pressure is really on the NHS to scrutinise all contract bids to the nth degree, which means even the smallest of errors in the bidding process could see your application cast aside, even if you are actually the best organisation for the job at hand.
Finding a company that has a history of excellent care is a top priority for the NHS so it can’t just choose the most cost effective option.
With the government committing to award more public sector contracts to SMEs, opportunities abound but competition will increase at the same time. You simply must ensure your bids are watertight, which means many SMEs that don’t have the in- house resources to put their own bids together will have to use an external organisation to take care of this on their behalf.
As we’ve outlined, outsourcing does offer a multitude of benefits that we cannot deny. Despite Labour MP Clive Efford’s proposal to halt NHS privatisation, it’s hard to see the outsourcing process coming to a halt anytime soon. After all, 70% of new NHS contracts are being outsourced to the private sector – a trend that’s only likely to gather further pace. It’s down to the NHS and private businesses to ensure the UK’s healthcare sector runs smoothly without breaking the bank – a tricky task if ever there was one.
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