We’re seeking local people to act as Assurance and Procurement Public Representatives to support the ongoing programme of improvement to mental health and emotional wellbeing services in east and west Suffolk. You may have heard this work referred to as #AVeryDifferentConversation
These roles will have an integral role in the scrutiny of bids by existing and potential providers of services to ensure they deliver the very best care and support to patients as well as good value for money for the taxpayer.
There are no formal qualifications required for the roles. Lived experience is the most important attribute, together with an interest in the NHS and health care.
Quick actions:
- Learn more about this role
- Fill in a quick form to apply for this role
- Learn more about procurement and assurance in the NHS
What would I need to do if I were to agree to be a Procurement Patient and Public Representative?
The job entails reading and scoring assurance framework and tender submissions, which can take several hours. Each of the tender submissions need to be reviewed and scored on their response to the question we are asking them. Given each procurement is different; we will be able to estimate how many hours it might take before you start.
You would also need to be able to join a moderation panel, which are generally up to a day long. For most tenders you would only need to attend one moderation meeting but sometimes there are more than one. We would tell you this before you agreed to be involved.
You need to be able to declare that you did not have a conflict of interest with the assurance and tender you are involved in, i.e. shares in, or a position of responsibility (i.e. non-executive director) with a bidding organisation.
Before you start, you would meet the person leading the tender process who would take you through it. Throughout the process you would be able to call in and ask for guidance from that procurement lead. Travelling expenses to this meeting and any subsequent meetings, such as the moderation meeting(s), will be covered but no other expenses will be reimbursed, such as time away from work, printing, postage etc.
What is procurement in the public sector?
Procurement in the public sector is a process to choose the right provider for services at the right price for the taxpayer.
How does it work?
Every procurement is different. As a rule to make sure it is fair, the service is promoted via the Contracts Finder website. Bidders can submit tenders and are generally (although this list is not exhaustive) asked to give evidence on the following.
- Financial and Legal Standing – This checks to ensure financial viability, insurance requirements, assurance around past convictions, environmental management and organisational structures etc.
- Capacity and Capability – A demonstration of experience to assure that the organisation could take on and deliver the service.
- Service Delivery – These ask for demonstrations and evidence of how they would deliver the service, including governance arrangements, Human Resources, innovation, accessibility, integration etc.
- Financial response – This would include the total cost of service and breakdown of the elements.
During procurement processes we evaluate the tender responses individually and through consensus panels, which include a broad range of representatives who can give their unique view on the submissions. These representatives include, among others:
- Procurement Professionals
- Finance Professionals
- Patient and Public Representatives
- Relevant Clinical Experts
- Information Governance Professionals
- General Practitioners
- Nurses
Panels do not always look the same as each procurement is different.
What is Assurance?
Quality assurance includes two principles: “Fit for purpose” (the product should be suitable for the intended purpose); and “right first time” (mistakes should be eliminated)
The Provider will present to the Assurance Panel on completed assurance framework (focusing on service delivery and immediate actions) the panel will score the subject areas within the assurance framework on the evidence provided.
