Procuring an External Clinical Provider: Your Questions Answered

Bringing in an external clinical provider involves more than a clinical decision. Before anything is signed, the teams responsible for approving and setting it up have practical questions: how long will it take, how much work will it create for us, which routes are open to us, and what information governance (IG) documents and checks are involved?

This page answers those questions. We asked Nicola Gemmell, our NHS Partnership Manager, for the ones she hears most, and for her honest answers.

Q: How long will it take, and how much work will it create for my team?

It depends mainly on the route your team chooses, and on your own approval and sign off steps. We follow your lead on both, keep things moving on our side, and try to keep the work for your team as much as possible.

Using an existing framework can shorten the process, because providers have already been through a selection process to join it.

I'm happy to meet with your procurement team before anything starts, so I can understand how you do things and what you need to see.

Once the contract is signed, mobilisation can take as little as two weeks, which we cover in our mobilisation blog.

Q: What's the quickest way to buy from you?

We're on frameworks that can be used to commission any of our services, which is usually the quickest and simplest route. Not only will we have already been through an evaluation process, but depending on terms it may be possible to award a call-off contract directly without further competition.

We can advise which frameworks to use, and whether or not this is the optimal route for your circumstances, in accordance with the Provider Selection Regime (PSR) regulations.

Q: What if we'd rather not use a framework?

That's absolutely fine and we can offer alternative routes to procurement, in-line with the Provider Selection Regime. We are also happy to meet with your procurement team to understand their preferences and processes, ensuring that these are taken into consideration when providing options.

A full competitive tender usually takes longer, because it includes a bid and evaluation stage, and how much longer depends on your own approval process. We've worked with services that have used each kind of process.

Q: How can we be sure the process is compliant?

Compliance sits with your team, and we respect that. What we can do is make it easier.We've been working with the NHS since 2013 and in that time have mobilised more than 400 projects, so we're familiar with how the PSR works for commissioners, and the information they need to evidence a decision.

We can provide the evidence your team asks for, such as our certificates and information to support your process. If your team has particular requirements, tell us early so we can plan around them.

Q: What does the IG process involve?

Frameworks can help here, because providers have been through selection checks to join them. Your IG team will still want to do their own, and that's right.

At a minimum, a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) and an information sharing agreement (ISA) need to be signed off before any referrals start. We can provide ours, and also link our IG team in with your local team to complete any internal versions as required. We will also provide our certificates, such as Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001 and Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) and we're happy to share them early so your team can start reviewing. We work in line with UK GDPR.

Q: Can we start small and scale up?

Yes. That might mean starting with one service line or a set number of referrals, and growing from there.

What matters is that the contract anticipates growth from the start, so adding capacity later is straightforward and doesn't mean going back to the beginning. We can advise on the wording in the contract so it allows for variations.

If you'd like to talk it through

I'm happy to meet you, or your procurement team and answer any questions you may have, with no obligation. Please do get in touch.