Pharmaceutical Services
Working in collaboration across NHS Procurement in Partnership (NHS PiP), NOE CPC has established this framework to provide NHS Trusts, Mental Health Trusts, Community Trusts, and ICS’s an effective and efficient route to market to support them in the provision of pharmaceutical services.
Pharmaceutical Services involves services that are ordinarily and customarily rendered by a pharmacy or pharmacist, including the preparation, and dispensing of pharmaceutical products.
The provision of these services is essential to ensuring that the health and wellbeing of the population can be maintained and improved. This framework can be used by NHS organisations to commission these services from providers that have undergone a rigorous tendering process.This process has been established and built on previous similar successful framework provision, with active input and oversight from a number of pharmaceutical, medicine and procurement experts from each NHS PiP procurement hub to ensure that the specification is robust and can meet the needs of those NHS organisations who wish to use this framework to provide a solution to their needs.
The services, across the Lots, aim:
• To provide an Inpatient, Outpatient and Discharge Dispensing service which is safe and effective and conducted by certified suppliers. This could be on a trust site(s) or via a remote hub.
• To provide a Multi-compartment Compliance Aids (MCA) assembly and delivery service, for inpatients, outpatients and/or discharge patients, with the aim of helping and guiding these patients in ensuring they take their medication on the correct day and time.
• To effectively provide the delivery of stock pharmaceutical products to the purchasing authority in pre-assembled containers for defined ward locations, ready for onward internal delivery within the hospital.
• To provide fully trained and competent staff to perform their duties in accordance with the requirements of the service.
• To provide the appropriate reporting of services needed to assist in the reporting to Commissioners, if appropriate.
Benefits of using the Framework
This framework provides a route to market that meets all the requirements under public contract regulations, which should provide Participating Authorities with the confidence that their needs will be met by providers who have undergone a rigorous tender and selection process.
• This framework presents a patient-centred service which will be delivered in a safe and effective manner by appropriately trained, competent staff who will offer patients expert information, counselling, and advice on all medicines supplied, or where required.
• Each lot offers a flexible and responsive service which is able to adapt and respond to the changing needs and demands within locations; this includes the ability to provide on-the-day requests of trusts as well as offering flexible access times which support the NHS agenda for24/7 services (including some weekends and evenings).
• The framework has been designed to ensure that safety is central to the provision of these services.
• All suppliers on the framework have been assessed against stringent quality requirements, demonstrating their compliance with all the minimum standards required of them.
Social value and sustainability
Sustainable Procurement is ‘a process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment’.
NOE CPC is committed to minimising the economic and environmental impact associated with our framework agreements; whilst enhancing the ethical and social impacts of our procurement activities and processes.
NOE CPC is applying the The Social Value Model within all our procurement projects; in order for our customers to realise the financial and environmental benefits of procuring more sustainable products and services when calling off under our framework agreements.
The following factors were considered in this procurement exercise:
• COVID-19 Recovery
• Tackling Economic Inequality
• Fighting Climate Change
• Equal Opportunity
• Wellbeing
For the purposes of this framework, while all five social value themes were considered, we felt it was important to focus attention on three key social value areas which we feel can be expanded upon and incorporated within any future framework contract activity.
Fighting Climate Change was considered due to the high number of potential deliveries, and vehicles associated with this framework. Bidders were asked to demonstrate how their service model can effectively enhance and deliver environmental benefits in line with the requirements of this framework.
Staff Wellbeing was considered due to the recent pandemic and the inequalities it has exposed. Bidders were asked to explain, and demonstrate how they measure the physical and mental health and wellbeing of their workforce and their action towards supporting this in line with the provision of services under this framework.
Tackling Economic Inequality was considered due to the scope, and potential number of localities associated with this framework. Bidders were assessed on how they are to support and encourage the creation of employment and training opportunities in support of the provision of services under this framework agreement. The benefits of us focusing our attention on these areas were that we were able to gauge the short and long-term plans of the suppliers, and gain an understanding as to how they are to effectively incorporate these themes into their service provision without disrupting the care andsafety of patients.
Lot Structure
The framework is split into four lots:
• Lot One – Remote Dispensing Services
• Lot Two – On-site Dispensing Services
• Lot Three – Dispensing of Medicine Compliance Aids
• Lot Four – Ward Order Assembly
Suppliers
Alliance Healthcare
Boots UK Ltd
Fairview Health Ltd
Lloyds Pharmacy Ltd
Pearl Chemists
Rowlands Pharmacy
Authority
NHS PiP: This is an NHS Procurement in Partnership (PiP) partner hub framework agreement delivered by North of Enlgand Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NOECPC) and available to our member organisations via NHS Commercial Solutions. This agreement is available to non-NHSCS member organisations via NOECPC.
Supporting Documents
Please click on the links below to access detailed information about this framework. Members can access the full set of framework documents by logging in.
If you are not a member, and would like to know more, please complete the 'Interested in using this Framework' form at the bottom of the page and we will contact you as soon as we can.