FEATURE
One organisation working with us using this approach is the London Borough of Haringey.
Barry Phelps, Head of Procurement at London Borough of Haringey, said: “We are trying to encourage more local SMEs to work with us, as it’s good for local growth and employment. And the more we can commission locally, the less pressure it puts on public services. For me, the DPS (Dynamic Purchasing System) is a really good tool that makes my job a lot easier."
Another organisation going down this route is NHS Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Unit (MLCSU), which is using this technology to place patients in the best possible care homes.
https://midlandsandlancashirecsu.nhs.uk/news-insight/case-studies/75-case-studies-business-improvement/267-a-pioneering-approach-to-care-home-placements
provide better, more personalised care than larger ones.”
However, without the right processes, policy, and technology, framework type is irrelevant. The first steps are to make it easy to understand the opportunity and to make the application process simple for SMEs. Many contracting authorities are now publishing the business opportunities alongside a simplified application process that takes an ‘ask only for what you need’ approach, rather than a huge data gathering process that adds no value.
When services are required, rather than relying on a manual process whereby a broker/commissioner picks up the phone to an individual supplier based on a relationship between them, authorities are starting to adopt processes and technologies that engage the entire provider community – attempting to find the provider that is genuinely best suited to the specific need. This gives SMEs the opportunity to win business based on merit and not size or historic relationship.
Finding the right framework, implementing the right commissioning process and using the right technology to execute that process is the only way in which quality and personalisation can be the central focus of care provision. By assessing providers on performance using outcomes or feedback from previous users (and/or families), suppliers are incentivised to deliver high quality care as well as to offer genuine value for money. And by having all the information readily to hand, brokers have an immediate picture of their market, including geographic areas where there are limited providers or capacity, and any lack of specialist provision which they may need to address.
This sounds good in theory, but the evidence on how well it works comes from talking to care commissioners and care providers who are using these systems.
twitter.com/TomorrowsCare
When a patient becomes eligible for CHC, MLCSU enter their requirements into the system, and they are issued to all eligible homes within a set distance. The homes can decide if they are able to meet the patient’s needs, and make an offer via the system. Aſter a set period of time, usually 24 hours, offers are closed. They are then ranked based on a 60% quality weighting and a 40% cost weighting. Providers can join the framework at any time, as long as they satisfy the qualitative and financial criteria.
Since implementing the system the quality rating on placements has increased, with more offers coming in from more providers, improved contract management and management information that enables them to understand what is happening in their market. Interestingly for care providers, the reporting from the system enabled MCSLU to identify areas where there were gaps in service provision, so that they were able to go and seek out new providers. So they were able to open up the market to newcomers, while providing a better service to their residents in need of care.
As the research shows, smaller care providers have an important role to play in providing quality care services. Care commissioners need to do everything they can to ensure they can bid fairly to provide services in their local community and perhaps take the lead from peers who have shown how opening up opportunity to SMEs improves the system for all parties.
There are examples of many authorities now adopting SME- friendly approaches, and hopefully more will follow suit. By looking out for these opportunities and getting on board a DPS framework, SMEs should find that they are rewarded for what they know, not who they know.
www.useadam.co.uk - 23 -
“Research has found that small social care providers can often
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
