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Let’s be honest, the NHS is going through a massive shake-up. Alongside the day-to-day pressures we all see, huge structural shifts are happening.
We’re seeing NHS England’s functions merge into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are facing big cuts to their running costs and teams. The goal? Less bureaucracy, more accountability, and better efficiency. Makes sense on paper, right?
But here’s the rub: making these huge changes while keeping the show on the road and dealing with tight budgets is incredibly tough. How does the NHS keep moving forward with vital digital health tech – the stuff that can genuinely improve care – when the central structures are changing and regional teams have less capacity?
This is exactly why we believe sorting out how the NHS buys and rolls out new health technology isn’t just a ‘nice-to-have’ anymore. It’s essential.
The old, fragmented ways were already holding things back. In this leaner, restructured NHS, they’re simply not sustainable. We need a standardised, end-to-end way to procure health tech, backed by a smart digital platform for evidence and solid assurance. This isn’t about adding more processes; it’s about creating a clear, efficient path forward that helps the NHS achieve its goals despite the upheaval.
The Current Maze
You probably know the old story: suppliers trying to sell great tech into the NHS often feel like they’re navigating a maze. Different national frameworks, different ICB approaches, different Trust requirements… it means tons of duplicated effort, delays, and real headaches, especially for smaller, innovative companies. NHS teams don’t have it easy either, often repeating the same checks and wrestling with inconsistent processes.
Now, add the current restructuring into the mix:
More Uncertainty: Big changes can mean temporary confusion about who does what. Clear, standard processes become vital anchors when everything else feels like it’s shifting.
Less Bandwidth: ICBs are being asked to cut running costs significantly (we hear figures up to 50%), hitting areas like assurance and admin support. The central NHSE/DHSC teams are shrinking too. There just aren’t enough people to keep doing procurement the old, time-consuming way.
Efficiency is King: With leaner teams, every process has to be smart and efficient. Wasting time on repetitive procurement tasks? That’s just not an option anymore.
Risk of Slowdown: There’s a real risk that important projects, including procurement reforms, get stuck while the reorganisation happens. We need ways to keep the wheels turning on innovation.
Things like DTAC (the Digital Technology Assessment Criteria) are a brilliant start – compiling the essential standards for safety and quality expected by the NHS. But DTAC only covers the assessment element, and even then it only does one part of it. It doesn’t fix the whole buying process around it. In this new reality, we need to look at the bigger picture.
Our Vision
Part 1
A Standardised Pathway – Your Reliable Map
When things are changing fast, wouldn’t a clear map be helpful? That’s what a nationally recognised, standardised procurement pathway for health tech could be. It wouldn’t replace the law (like the Procurement Act 2023), but it would give everyone a consistent route to follow within those rules.
It needs to cover the whole journey, embedding things like DTAC, and standardising:
- How evidence is submitted (What info do you really need?)
- How solutions are evaluated (balancing quality, safety, value)
- Commercials and making sure everyone’s ready for roll-out.
Why's this so important right now?
- It brings stability: A reliable process everyone understands when other things are uncertain.
- It helps leaner teams: Less need for stretched ICB and central teams to reinvent the wheel every time.
- It keeps standards high: Ensures safety and compliance checks (like DTAC) happen consistently, no matter who’s overseeing them.
Part 2
The Centralised Evidence Hub – Smarter Working for Everyone
A standard pathway needs smart tools, especially when time and people are short. That’s where a secure, central ‘Evidence Hub’ comes in. It has to be a true, searchable repository, run by the NHS for the NHS, with clear avoidance in its promotion of terms such as ‘certification’ to remain true to nomenclature in the Medical Device and ISO standards world. The NHS cannot and should not be a Certification Body or Regulator.
Think of it as a place where suppliers upload their core documents (certs, policies, DTAC evidence, etc.) just once.
Why's this critical now?
- It slashes admin tasks: Gets rid of that soul-destroying task of submitting the same stuff over and over – freeing up time for suppliers and the NHS teams checking it all.
- It boosts lean teams: Lets the remaining staff in ICBs and DHSC/NHSE focus on the strategic stuff, not chasing (what should be) standard paperwork.
- It speeds things up: Faster access to core info means quicker checks, getting useful tech deployed sooner.
Part 3
Centralised Quality Assurance – Building Trust, Saving Time
Want to take efficiency even further? We could add a Centralised Quality Assurance (QA) layer over the Evidence Hub. This wouldn’t judge the tech itself, but it could check if suppliers have submitted all the right documents and if things like certifications look complete and up-to-date.
This could really help ICB teams who might have less capacity for these checks now. But, and it’s a big but, we need to sort out indemnity. If the central check misses something, who’s responsible? We need a clear answer so that purchasers can trust the system and not feel they have to do the checks all over again themselves. It’s tricky, but given the drive for efficiency, we think it’s worth figuring out.
Getting Everyone On Board: When Need Drives Change
How do we make this happen? The usual questions pop up: should it be mandated or just encouraged? How do we get enough suppliers and purchasers using it quickly (the ‘chicken and egg’ thing)?
The current situation actually changes the game a bit:
- Mandate vs. Incentive: The massive push for savings might mean mandating efficient tools like this makes more sense now. Plus, ICBs needing to cut costs have a huge incentive to use systems that save them time and effort. Necessity could be the push needed for adoption.
- Critical Mass: We don’t have time for a slow burn. We need a quick, focused launch – maybe pilots with keen ICBs, strong backing from the top (DHSC/NHSE), and getting key suppliers on board by showing them the clear benefits (less hassle, lower costs), or perhaps even offering them financial support or incentives to help cover the up-front cost and de-risk the process.
Conclusion
Let's Build the Right Foundations, Now.
The NHS is changing, driven by the need for efficiency and transformation. Merging NHS England into DHSC and reshaping ICBs are big moves. But they won’t deliver the goods if the underlying processes, like procurement, stay clunky and inefficient.
We believe now is the perfect time to fix health tech procurement for good. A standardised pathway, an Evidence Hub, and maybe even centralised QA aren’t just improvements; they feel like essential foundations for the reshaped NHS. They offer a real way to make the efficiency savings demanded, while still ensuring the NHS gets the innovative tech it needs.
Making this happen needs everyone pulling together – the new DHSC/NHSE leaders, ICBs, industry, and procurement pros. It won’t be easy, especially sorting out the details around assurance. But if we don’t act now, we risk slowing down progress and making it harder for the NHS to adapt. Let’s use this moment of change to build the streamlined, efficient, and trusted pathways needed to untangle the procurement knot and help deliver better care.
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