The NHS England National Commercial and Procurement Hub provides expert advice, guidance and support to integrated care boards (ICBs), general practices and legally incorporated practice affiliations with all aspects of procurement, including buying via the Digital Care Services (DCS) Catalogue.

The Hub has worked extensively over the last 7 years with commissioners and General Practice, providing comprehensive support with investment in and procurement of digital solutions intended to transform general practice, and most recently to deliver digital improvements aligned to the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care and modern general practice model.

To deliver our Strategy for Modern General Practice, support available from the Commercial and Procurement Hub includes:

1. advice and guidance – commercial, procurement and market management advice and guidance support to local digital procurements and contracts
2. market engagement – support to deliver pre-procurement activity to define your needs and understand the supplier landscape through proactive and compliant supplier engagement activity
3. identification and support for collaborative procurement opportunities – enabling value for money investment through economies of scale
4. facilitation and signposting to best fit procurement frameworks – to reduce duplication and drive efficiency procurement framework strategy recommendations
5. run Compliant Procurements on your behalf
6. shared learning and experience

The Hub can support you at each step of your procurement journey, from understanding your digital needs, through to the compliant purchasing of a digital solution. Wrap-around support is offered for contract drafting and completion and on-going contract advice and guidance, regardless of value and complexity, including:

• procurement of digital tools that meet the required standards to support local digital strategy, including digital cloud-based telephony solutions via The Better Purchasing Framework which ensures practices have access to comprehensive, wrap-around specialist commercial and procurement advice and support
• procurements from the NHSE Digital Services for Integrated Care (DSIC) (previously GP IT Futures ) catalogue of frameworks
• offer targeted and practical commercial and procurement support to ICBs/PCNs
• work with NHS England national programmes to represent the procurement needs of general practice transformation projects
• provide a single point of contact, and signposting service, for emerging digital suppliers seeking to engage with general practice

Contact the Hub at: commercial.procurementhub@nhs.net.