Establishing an infant warming and phototherapy procurement framework

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Abstract

The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) within the UK has developed a national procurement agreement for infant warming and neonatal phototherapy equipment (IWF) as part of a remedy set down by the Competition Commission. This framework agreement was designed to stabilise prices and encourage more manufacturers to supply quality products to the United Kingdom.

On 1st March 2005 the IWF was launched and the NHS PASA website now lists all current UK suppliers, details of their contracted products and the agreed prices for purchases by NHS organisations. The framework agreement speeds up the procurement process as NHS trusts do not need to conduct their own competitive tender exercise. The single source of information on companies supplying warming and phototherapy devices helps NHS staff easily locate new and smaller companies marketing these products. Two new manufacturers are now selling incubators in the UK. Extensive use of the comparative pricing information will enable market forces to stabilise prices.

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Background

During 2004 the UK Competition Commission conducted an enquiry into the purchase of Airshields Ltd by Draeger Medical UK Ltd. This action led to a virtual monopoly within the UK, as a single company had 90% share of the UK market for neonatal warming products, in particular incubators. As this pattern was not replicated globally the Competition Commission recommended that local action was needed to (a) stabilise prices and (b) facilitate further competition within the United Kingdom. It was

Method

In August 2004 the designated NHS PASA buyer formed a working group of user experts. This included representatives from the Neonatal Nurses Association and British Association of Perinatal Medicine, technical specialists in neonatal care devices, Head of CEDAR (the Device Evaluation Service's centre for neonatal care equipment) and the Device Evaluation Service programme manager for CEDAR.

Review of the established infant warming products sold in the UK revealed that some models of infant

Results

In early March 2005 the infant warming and phototherapy national framework agreement (IWF) was published on the NHS PASA website (NHS PASA, 2005) which is only available through the NHS intranet. This contract agreement is available for use by NHS trusts in England from 1st March 2005 for one year, and may be extended for a further two years. This agreement is also available for use by National Health Service organisations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but they are advised to check

Discussion

Under the NHS PASA infant warming and phototherapy national framework agreement NHS trust staff remain responsible for undertaking local assessments, considering the information provided on the pre-purchase questionnaire and choosing the products that best meet their requirements. IWF is designed to support staff in three key phases of the procurement process. It provides a single source of information on the relevant UK suppliers, prices, support resources and contract information. Local

Conclusion

The collective framework agreement set up by NHS PASA speeds up the procurement process for individual hospitals as trusts do not need to conduct their own competitive tender exercise. The single source of information on companies supplying warming and phototherapy devices helps NHS staff easily identify all relevant suppliers, including new and smaller companies marketing these products. Combining the NHS PASA procurement framework agreement with a strategic consultation with global

References (1)

  • NHS PASA

    National contract for the supply of infant warming and phototherapy equipment

Cited by (0)

3

CEDAR [Clinical Engineering Device Assessment and Reporting] is a unit within the Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering Directorate of Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust working under contract to the Device Evaluation Service.

1

Tel.: +44 29 2068 2125.

2

Tel.: +44 1844 216809.

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