NHS England publishes small and medium enterprises action plan

A new action plan has been published that outlines how NHS England will help to deliver on its commitment to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and enable the NHS to benefit from their significant value and contribution to patient care.

The ‘Small and medium enterprises action plan’ states that NHS England needs to work together with other parts of the NHS to harness the expertise of SMEs through the SME Advisory Group. NHS England will use the SME Advisory Group to fundamentally change the way that the NHS does business with this vital sub-group of suppliers.

The SME Advisory Group was established by NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and NHS Supply Chain. This group advises NHS Commercial on issues affecting SMEs and their experiences with doing business with the NHS.

Its focus is on improving the opportunities for SMEs to engage with and compete for NHS business. The group has an advisory role and does not have decision-making responsibilities. It does not consider or discuss individual procurements or seek to influence current commercial opportunities.

The group consists of 12 SME businesses, spanning the sectors that the NHS buys from. View the full list of businesses involved in the group here.

As a result of working with the SME Advisory Group and other parts of the NHS, the action plan underlines that NHS England is committed to:

• Continuing to give SMEs a clear voice and lead the activities of the SME Advisory Group.
• Better engage, communicate with, and learn from the SME community.
• Improving visibility of the NHS opportunities and encouraging SMEs’ participation in its commercial activity.
• Leveraging the innovation power of SMEs for the benefit of the NHS.
• Maximising the SME opportunity arising from social value.

Each commitment is accompanied by information about why that commitment has been chosen, what NHS England will continue doing, and what NHS England will do by 2026 or earlier.

Beyond its own commitments, NHS England is also encouraging SMEs to do the following points to maximise the ability of the NHS to work in partnership with the NHS:

• Seek and deploy collaborative approaches with other SMEs and larger businesses on common goals and challenges.
• Understand own capabilities and build robust, impactful case studies as evidence.
• Understand the NHS needs and challenges outlined in strategies and plans such as NHS Long Term Plan and the Strategic framework for NHS Commercial.
• Utilise right to receive constructive feedback.
• Tell NHS England what is working with its supplier engagement and how it can improve.
• Become familiar with procurement routes available within all supply chain tiers.
• Build relationships/networks to complement intelligence gathering and consider joining a relevant trade association. Support/attend relevant industry events.
• Register with NHS events portal for access to free-to-attend engagement events.