A free to join webinar taking place in September will spotlight the role of NHS procurement innovation in helping to inspire the integration of new technologies to improve patient care and efficiency.

Hosting the educational session on Wednesday 24 September, formal health service partner InnoScot Health believes it is a key opportunity for the workforce to learn more about this vital interconnected relationship.

The ‘lunch and learn’ webinar taking place from 12.00-12.45 – entitled ‘Accelerating healthcare innovation readiness through the vital procurement process’ – will be presented by Innovation Commercialisation Manager Frances Ramsay.

She will be joined by guest speaker David Beattie, Procurement Programme Manager​ at NHS National Services Scotland (NSS),​ who oversees a portfolio of over 300 NHS Scotland contracts with an annual spend of over £1.2bn.

The NHS Scotland Procurement Strategy emphasises continuous improvement and service development as key capabilities. It aims to leverage these capabilities “to innovate, enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and improve patient care”.

Through supplier relationship management (SRM), it is believed that NHS Scotland can foster relationships and partnerships to deliver innovations, value, and manage risk throughout the duration of contract life cycles.

InnoScot Health believes that effective procurement is an essential springboard for innovation ambitions.

The webinar will be a great opportunity to:

• Learn from those already innovating thanks to procurement support
• Explore cutting-edge thinking and best practices
• Discuss how procurement strategies are encompassing sustainable innovation

The InnoScot Health webinar series is open to all, regardless of role or organisation. All sessions are hosted online through Microsoft Teams, with joining instructions provided upon registration.

• Register to attend

Frances said: “We’re pleased to be kickstarting our webinar series again after a brief summer pause.

“Our September session will be an interesting deep dive into how NHS Scotland’s procurement expertise is both innovating while offering support to those aiming to make breakthroughs.

“Some may be unaware of the wealth of options available to them when aiming to take an idea to the next level.

“Indeed, NSS was part of a collaborative project which led to the development of the Scotland Innovates service, assessing innovative products and solutions across the public sector.

“Scotland Innovates, in which David also operates as Health Innovation and Improvement Programme Manager, further supports potential suppliers in their ambitions to turn ideas and innovations into products and technologies that could make a positive difference to the provision of public services.”

The webinar will be rounded off by an opportunity to ask questions of the speakers. Pre-submit your queries for our panel discussion to [email protected]