We’d like to introduce you to Miranda Parker, DHU’s Procurement Lead who is behind a DHU-wide project to get the best value for the resources we need to provide quality patient care.
DHU has grown very quickly over the years and this expansion means that some of the processes that worked as a smaller organisation, need to be reviewed and re-assessed. In the world of procurement, this means ensuring that we don’t pay over the odds for the essential items we need to provide and support the delivery of care to our patients.
This means looking at how we bring in those resources across the whole organisation to see what works well, what we can do better and how we can work with organisations that we buy from, to get the best possible value for money and provide the solid foundation to grow further.
Miranda told us: “My previous role was as Order Co-Ordination Manager, with an American owned supplier of therapeutic medical devices to the NHS, so I have experience of the other side of the procurement process. I was there for 27 years before the Company was sold, which then gave me the chance to reassess my own priorities and see what other opportunities were available.
“I decided to do a Project Management course and then saw this opportunity to undertake a large-scale project across a geographically diverse organisation that focusses on patient care. I like what DHU stands for, where it has come from and I believe that I can make a difference in terms of how we work with suppliers to make better use of our budgets.
“Get the best value out of every pound”
“I’m referring to the Central Procurement Project which is, first and foremost, about working in collaboration with teams across DHU, identifying elements of good practice in terms of working contracts with suppliers and seeing how that can be applied elsewhere. We currently have around 470 different Suppliers within DHU and raised nearly 10,000 Purchase Orders in the last two years. We need to look at how we can streamline our processes and get the best value out of every single pound we spend.
“I am looking to build firm partnerships and relationships with colleagues across the organisations to understand how some of these contracts work and how we might be able to get better value. There is so much experience, expertise, and knowledge in this organisation that we can share; it’s about tapping into that, listening to suggestions, and making subtle changes to current policies, processes and systems. Small changes can make a big difference and I know that there will be ideas there, just waiting to be taken forward to make those processes more efficient. It’s about what we need today and how we can turn that into tomorrow.
“Make our money go as far as far as possible for our patients”
“I want to get vendors on board as well and it’s important to stress that it’s not about finding the cheapest way of doing something. We need to look at sustainability, environmental responsibilities, service delivery, value for the services we get, a range of things to see where the land lies. We need to pull together to make that DHU pound go as far as it can for the patient, to maintain that sound footing we have to promote more growth and development as an organisation.
“What I don’t want to do is suggest change for the sake of change. If a process is working then brilliant, in fact we can use it as a model, it is important to look with fresh eyes, alongside experienced eyes, to understand why it’s working. That way we can see if it can be applied to a different part of DHU, collect those best practice ideas and work with teams to see how and if we need to adapt.
“This is a long-term project heading into the next financial year and I am looking forward to working with the different teams, hearing their ideas and driving forward with the innovative ideas that come from those teams. I’m based in the Finance and Estates team at Roundhouse in Derby so I’m easy to find and approach. If anybody has any thoughts about the procurement processes, they are involved in, please feel free to drop me a line, I’d love to have a chat over a cuppa to hear your thoughts. I want to understand why things happen, find out what ‘good’ looks like and help you to get what you need to make that happen together. I’m very much looking forward to working with you all.”