Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has assessed the effect on (a) patients and (b) patient choice of centralised procurement.

‘Centralised procurement’ can sometimes be used to refer to the services of NHS Supply Chain. NHS Supply Chain offers a procurement and logistics service to all National Health Service trusts in the United Kingdom under a central service contract on behalf of NHS Business Services Authority.

There is currently no centralised procurement model mandated to the NHS by the Department, and as such no assessment has been made as to an effect on patients or patient choice. NHS trusts may choose to utilise the service offering of NHS Supply Chain, or choose an alternative. It is for NHS trusts to make their own choices with regard to products and services they purchase; therefore it is for individual trusts to assess any impact on patients and patient choice.