#TeamTalk: Strengthening NHS Support
This month we’re focusing on our Healthcare Services and Pharmacy category team, who manage a niche portfolio of framework agreements ranging from Advocacy Services for Health and Social Care to Radiopharmaceuticals, our team are on hand to support customers to find the right solution, as well as collaborating with our partners and suppliers across the NHS to ensure we are at the forefront of delivering the highest quality services.
We spoke to Joanne Barton, newly appointed Associate Director of Procurement overseeing NOE CPC's dedicated HR and People and the Healthcare Services and Pharmacy category team about her plans for her new role and her aspirations for the future.
"Taking up this post marks an exciting new chapter in my 35-year career in the NHS. While there will be a period of transition, my focus is on growing our healthcare services and pharmacy category and expanding our portfolio of frameworks. We have a talented team who have built productive relationships with our customers, suppliers, and partners. Our goal is to support the NHS and wider public sector in making the best use of our agreements.
"Building strong relationships with commissioning teams and providers is crucial to understand the constantly evolving needs of healthcare, and how we can meet that need. Recently, our team issued a PIN for public health services, which has already garnered significant interest, and we will be sharing more information on this in the coming months.
"My role is to lead, guide, and support the vision for our category over the coming years. Growth won't happen overnight, but we're committed to working with our customers to build a portfolio that aligns with NHS and public sector priorities. Empowering our team to develop a strong customer support offering and reinforcing our profile as category experts is key.
"Utilising our internal teams like communications and marketing, training and events, and procurement operations to strengthen engagement, as well as collaborating with technical services to leverage data for strategy development, is essential.
"Our Healthcare Services and Pharmacy team boasts a great mix of skills and expertise, with experienced professionals like Paul Dunn-Jones, David Willis, and Kimberley Kay. We're looking to expand the team further to drive growth, keep an eye on our jobs page for information about these roles.
"With the NHS under pressure to reduce costs, our team are dedicated to offering best value for the services needed. We focus on preventative steps and delivering patient care closer to home, developing agreements and services that meet cost reduction requirements.
"What drives us is that every one of us is a patient, and we view our delivery from a patient's perspective. Addressing issues affecting trusts requires a whole team effort, but I'm confident we can deliver for our customers and continue to grow our category and the entire organisation."
Find out more about the portfolio of frameworks available in the Healthcare Services and Pharmacy category here.