Title of project: Nursing Supplies Group
Project Team: The group will co-opt new members as required:
Head of Procurement and Supplies, (Project lead); Productive Ward lead/Senior Nurse; Clinical Librarian (Tracey Pratchett); Nurse Practitioner; Accountant; Infection Prevention Matron; Lead Nurse – Productive Ward; Clinical Skills Lead; Midwife; Ward Manager; Practice Educator Paediatrics; Occupational Health representative;
Critical care representative
Resources Required: Library resources: Clinical Librarian time (meeting attendance 4 hours per month, literature searching and synthesis approx 7.5 hours per month) Supplies account for document supply.
Intranet: Supplies Group rep will manage the Intranet content.
Cutepdf (free license)
Time frame: Oct 2009 – April 2012 (Project and Clinical Librarian involvement will continue after April 2012)
“The Story”: The University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust is committed to providing high quality research based care within the resources available. The purpose of the Trust Supplies Group is to consider the research around the clinical efficacy and safety of clinical items available for use and make recommendations based on clinical and cost effectiveness. The Trust Supplies Group meets once per month and the Clinical Librarian attends all meetings.
In October 2009 the Clinical Librarian was invited to attend the Trust Supplies Group to deliver literature searches to support decision making around procurement. The savings target to be delivered by the group by April 2011 was £100,000. It was agreed at the first meeting that the Clinical Librarian would carry out searches for those items where a procurement decision would have some impact on clinical practice. Early in the process it became apparent that the group needed more than the delivery of a standard list of results and subsequently, evidence was synthesised into a standard 2 page format which would underpin recommendations made by the group when necessary (some procurement decisions are a straightforward swap and no evidence base needed). Once recommendations are agreed and the change to procurement practice made, the summary is posted onto the Supplies Group Intranet pages.
Alignment to local, regional and national drivers: The procurement of consumables by NHS acute and Foundation trusts (Feb 2011) National Audit Office “NHS hospitals often pay more than they need to when buying basic supplies, the National Audit Office has reported. A combination of inadequate information and fragmented purchasing means that NHS hospitals’ procurement of consumables is poor value for money.”
University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust Strategic Objective No 5 Business Plan 2011-2012:
“Give our patients value for money and provide sustained long term financial viability”
Impact of this project/service for the:
• customer • organisation • library
In 2010-11 the Nursing Supplies Group saved £100,000 and in 2011-2012 savings of just under £250,000 on procurement across the Trust.
A representative from the Supplies Group contributed to the interview element a current NW evaluation of Clinical Librarian services so it will be interesting to find out more about the perceived impact of the Clinical Librarian impact on the group and its decision making practices. The interviews were conducted by a Clinical Librarian from outside the Trust, to avoid bias.
The Library has made links with a number of Trust staff and have achieved greater understanding of the issues relating to procurement and clinical practice.
Winner of the Sally Hernando Award 2012.
Lessons Learned: Not every product change requires a detailed literature search, searches are only required when a product change may result in a change in clinical practice.
Excellent opportunity for library staff to collaborate with cross bay teams and have greater impact on evidence based procurement decision making.
Ongoing Clinical Librarian contribution is valued by other members of the Supplies Group.
Sustainability /next steps? The Clinical Librarian continues to be embedded in the Nursing Supplies Group for the foreseeable future and the work has been integrated into day to day workload.
However, the role of the group and the Clinical librarian’s role within that group may change as procurement practices become standardised across the Trust and different issues/approaches arise.
Contact details: Tracey Pratchett Clinical Librarian; University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust
(01524) 516224
Tracey.pratchett@mbht.nhs.uk
Date case study completed: 28th February 2012
Tagged: Literature searching, North West, Procurement