There has been a growing concern within the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector that smaller or newer providers are disadvantaged in NHS procurement processes, particularly when commissioning children and young people’s mental health services.

In recognition of this, the NHS Somerset ICB invited Liz Loud, our Partnership Manager for Children and Young People’s Mental Health, to participate in a procurement exercise.

The purpose of the exercise, and the subsequent report, was to understand more about the current process, what learning could be taken from it to support the VCFSE sector, and provide feedback on the process.

The report captures key insights from the procurement exercise, and outlines eight practical recommendations to make NHS procurement more transparent, inclusive, and accessible – especially for smaller and newer VCFSE organistions.

Highlights from the report include:

• Simplifying application processes and scoring guidance
• Promoting innovation and co-design
• Strengthening communication and capacity-building
• Embedding continuous improvement and collaboration

The report is currently being considered by NHS Somerset ICB, acknowledging the requirements of the Provider Selection Regime and wider procurement legislation. The ICB’s response to the recommendations will be shared in due course.

To find out more about the report, and to read Liz’s recommendations in full, please click here.

We’d love to hear your feedback on this work, as it may help shape a new, pilot procurement model to be trialled at the end of the year. Email liz.loud@sparksomerset.org.uk to share your thoughts.