NHS ENGLAND
“ People often say that they fall into procurement . I didn ' t ' fall ' into procurement . I made a very definite choice that this was the career path that I wanted to follow ”
JACQUI ROCK CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER , NHS ENGLAND
carried by people , and ends with people . A truly British and essentially democratic institution – and Rock is instinctively aware of this .
“ Regardless of the pressures everybody is under , regardless of the challenges the NHS is facing , as I go around the hospitals , everybody is on mission . Everybody shares the same vision . Everybody wants to do the absolute best they can , even under the most difficult circumstances .
“ And , for me , that ' s been absolutely gratifying . To work in an organisation that actually employs more than 1.2 million people , where everybody has the same drive and the same mission , is incredible .
Carter , Boardman and The Government Procurement Bill Rock touches on The Carter Review that also took place in 2015 , which concerned operational productivity in the NHS .
“ It was a real key moment in the journey of NHS procurement ,” she says . “ The findings in the review changed the way we were recommended to work , and they informed our future ambitions .
Another significant event that occurred in this timeline was the Boardman review of government procurement in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic , which was published in 2021 .
Similar to the Carter Review , the Boardman Review looked at how the NHS works across spending taxpayers ’ money and provided some significant recommendations for the future .
Some of its key findings concerned transforming supply chain resilience , integrated roles for commercial and procurement expertise within strategy formation , and , most importantly , procurement strategy as being central to policy making when the NHS are spending government money .
Rock says : “ When it comes to procurement – and this also applies to the NHS – this is something I am dedicated to , and very much focused on enhancing and fixing . We have gathered and leveraged all of the lessons and reviews that have taken place to ensure that we deliver on the recommendations through the NHS Central Commercial Function .
“ Going forward , in 2023 , we ' ve got the launch of the Procurement Bill , which is currently going through Parliament . The intention of the Bill will be to reform the UK ' s public procurement regime to streamline new procedures , and is intended to save time for public bodies and suppliers , allowing us to promote commercial outcomes and deliver more value for the money .
“ The new Procurement Bill is fundamental to the NHS Central Commercial Function , which we ’ re rolling out so we can ensure that
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