Nationally Contracted Products: Why They Matter for NHS Trusts
Nationally Contracted Products (NCPs) play an important role in helping NHS trusts secure better value through procurement. By pooling national demand and narrowing down product ranges, they make it possible to achieve consistency, supply resilience, and value for money—without losing sight of quality or clinical need.
For NHS trusts, the impact is often felt most clearly through cost savings. Frameworks are carefully built around high-volume and high-value lines, —items that you’re already buying every day. In categories like Office Supplies, for instance, something as simple as recycled copier paper helps to unlock system-wide savings through smart, coordinated buying.
But NCPs aren’t just about driving down price. Increasingly, they’re aligned with broader NHS priorities such as carbon reduction and social value. These kinds of shifts may seem small on their own, but they add up. Another core benefit is supply chain stability. By consolidating demand and working closely with a trusted set of suppliers, NCPs help reduce the likelihood of disruption—something you’ll know can have a big operational knock-on effect, particularly in critical areas like hygiene and infection control. Reliable supply helps you get on with delivering safe, consistent care.
Every NCP is shaped by insight—usage data, feedback from procurement teams and clinical users, and ongoing performance reviews. This means frameworks evolve. Specifications and product ranges are regularly reviewed to make sure they continue to meet what you need locally, while still delivering on national value. For suppliers, it also means longer-term certainty, encouraging investment and innovation in return.
Looking Ahead: Chlorine NCP Development
We’re now in the process of developing a Nationally Contracted Product for chlorine, with a proposed launch in 2026. The aim is to bring together demand for chlorine tablets, granules, and dilution vessels into a single, standardised offer—delivered under the recently launched Cleaning Equipment, Supplies, and Associated Products framework. Moving away from a standalone chlorine framework gives us the chance to create a more efficient, consistent and easier-to-use model for Trusts.
This upcoming NCP is being designed with four key goals in mind: to simplify the product range, improve compliance and safety, strengthen supply continuity, and support value for money. We’re proposing a two-supplier model to deliver the full range—helping to ensure both coverage and resilience.
As part of this development, we recently held a customer panel to gather input directly from Trusts. Conversations covered brand preferences, COSHH considerations, and the kind of staff training that may be needed as part of any transition. These insights have been crucial in shaping the proposed scope and specifications of the chlorine NCP.
The feedback we received has been invaluable, it’s helped us understand not just which products need to be in scope, but also the practical requirements—like ease of use and training needs—that Trusts are managing day to day. We want this NCP to feel like it works with your processes, not against them.
This collaborative input will continue to guide our approach. If you or your team would like to know more or have further feedback to share, we’d love to hear from you. As always, the best solutions are those built with trusts, not just for them.
Contact our NHS Supply Chain: Facilities and Office Supplies team on: facilitiesandofficesolutionssupport@supplychain.nhs.uk