Delivering the Triple Aim duty of improving population health, quality and value will require new models of care that drive integration and provide sustainable health and social care. Integrated Care Systems, and their component organisations, will provide the vision and strategy required to transform local healthcare, while effective clinical and corporate procurement will play a pivotal role in delivering excellent services for patients and best value for taxpayers.
We provide expert procurement and market management advice and support across Integrated Care Systems (ICS), and regionally and nationally for NHS England. By combining the strength of procurement expertise spanning Arden & GEM and Midlands and Lancashire Commissioning Support Units, we enable health systems to achieve their goals for integration, collaboration and efficiencies, whilst navigating the required regulatory frameworks.
As part of the NHS family, we share your values and ensure patients and service users are at the heart of what we do. We continually invest in our staff and systems to deliver responsive, creative and best in class services spanning six areas:
Strategic Support and Advice
Help with defining needs and future strategy, includes:
- Gap and value analysis, risk identification and mitigation
- Strategy and policy alignment
- Market shaping and development
- Net zero and social value commitments
- Business Case and Bid development.
Sourcing
Identifying suppliers providing the best quality, value, price and service, includes:
- Market engagement and selection
- Sourcing to contract
- Specialist advice, process and documentation development
- Pricing strategy
- Audit trail creation and reporting.
Provider Contract Management
Collaborative and consolidated contract reporting and administration, includes:
- Contracting support
- Purchase to pay
- Proportionate management and quality monitoring
- Savings and investment management
- Benefits tracking
- Horizon scanning.
Performance Management
Acting as an independent critical friend in your system, includes:
- Quality, financial and other technical management
- Proactive problem solving and risk management
- Managing business continuity
- Contract consolidation
- KPIs and benefits tracking
- Managing contract mobilisation and close-down.
Spend Analytics
Helping you to understand spend and make informed decisions, includes:
- Spend reviews
- Benchmarking
- Data gathering, contract registers and audit trail development
- Category management approach and contract consolidation.
Training and Development
Building and transferring knowledge and skills on procurement and contracting best practice, includes:
- Development of bespoke training packages
- Virtual and face to face training
- Team development and upskilling
- Networking opportunities.
We support all procurement categories including healthcare services, workforce and corporate services, digital and ICT, pharmacy, estates and facilities management, and transport. Our procurement services are made in the NHS, specifically for the health and care sector and provide:
- Comprehensive strategic and transactional procurement services which support cost-effective, patient-focused care and are delivered in line with regulations and statutory processes.
- Diverse procurement experience from bespoke services for individual ICBs to large-scale NHS England programmes. Our team has a strong track record of working collaboratively with clients and potential suppliers to source sustainable solutions for health systems.
- A strong background and passion for integrated working across the social care, voluntary, community and health sectors that is ideally positioned to deliver transformation and integrated healthcare.
- An NHS pedigree and a portfolio of work underpinned by rigorous, industry leading governance frameworks and quality standards, we are uniquely placed to support your transformation journey.
RELEVANT READING
Find out more about our multi award-winning procurement services by accessing the resources below.
NHS Providers Annual Conference 2024
The four NHS Commissioning Support Units (CSUs) will be participating in this year’s NHS Providers Annual Conference and Exhibition to share how we can support NHS leaders in addressing the current and future challenges in health and care.
Improving the Patient Escalation Process through collaborative working between clinicians, home oxygen providers and ICBs
Improving the Patient Escalation Process through collaborative working between clinicians, home oxygen providers and ICBs.
Webinar: How can finance and procurement work together to drive improvements and reduce waste across our health and care systems?
On 18 July 2024, Arden & GEM hosted a networking and development session for NHS Trusts and provider collaboratives to discuss opportunities, share best practice and learn from each other to tackle finance and productivity challenges.
Webinar: Introducing the Social Value in Health Excellence Programme
If your healthcare organisation wants to quickly advance its social value position then register for our 'Introducing the Social Value in Health Excellence Programme' webinar on Tuesday 16 July at 2pm.
NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB joins Social Value Network as part of commitment to addressing health inequalities
NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) has joined the national Social Value Network, hosted by NHS Arden & GEM, as part of its ongoing commitment to deliver social value in the services it commissions.
Key working service procurement recognised by UK National GO Awards
Arden & GEM and Birmingham and Solihull ICS are delighted to have been named as finalists at the UK National GO Awards 2023/24, in the ‘Collaborative Procurement Initiative Award’ category, for a project to establish a children and young people’s key working service.
The role of finance in driving down NHS carbon emissions
Our Social Value Lead, Becky Jones, and Director at the Carbon Neutral Group, George Curtis, discuss the important role that finance and procurement teams have to play in making a meaningful dent in the NHS’s carbon footprint in this article for Public Finance.
Three ingredients that will help make Green Plans work in practice
Justine Harding, our Estates and Facilities Manager, and Becky Jones, our Social Value Specialist discuss the three ingredients that should be embedded to support successful delivery of Green Plans in this latest blog for Healthcare Leader.
Arden & GEM receives Government accreditation for commercial best practice
Arden & GEM has successfully achieved accreditation in the Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF).
Arden & GEM to exhibit at NHS Providers Annual Conference & Exhibition – 14-15 November 2023 - ACC Liverpool
Arden & GEM is pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at NHS Providers Annual Conference and Exhibition 2023.
CONTACT US
If you’d like to find out more about our Procurement Support Services, please contact us here: