NHS Scotland - Ethical
Procurement Policy
Gordon Beattie
Head of Procurement Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Chair NHSS Ethical Procurement SLWG
WoS Regional Procurement Project Director
Ethical Procurement Policy
Aim
NHS Scotland (NHSS) requires that goods and services
purchased for the delivery of healthcare to patients are
sourced ethically and bought from supply sources which
maintain ethical standards through-out their supply
chains.
Objectives
The objectives of this policy is to put in place an operational framework
which provides guidance and buyer tools to procurement officers across
NHSS to meet the following outputs
Awareness of potential ethical procurement issues.
Awareness of industry sectors at risk of an ethical procurement issue.
Ability to model these risks to identify potential mitigating actions.
Provision of guidance and practical tools to mitigate risks.
Provision of a framework of learning and skills development in respect of
ethical procurement aspects.
•Provision of a database of best practice, reference material and known at
risk procurements
Ethical Procurement Policy – Key Elements
1. Procurement Practice
2. Equality and Diversity
3. Fairtrade
4. Serious and Organised Crime (SOC)
5. Ethical Procurement Labour Framework (Child Labour)
Procurement Practice:
NHSS will adopt the CIPS code of practice for procurement ethics:
Members will always act professionally and selflessly by:
(a) maintaining the highest possible standard of integrity in all their
business relationships both inside and outside the organisations
where they work;
(b) rejecting any business practice which might reasonably be deemed
improper and never using their authority for personal gain;
(c) enhancing the proficiency and stature of the profession by acquiring
and maintaining current technical knowledge and the highest
standards of ethical behaviour;
(d) fostering the highest possible standards of professional competence
amongst those for whom they are responsible;
(e) optimising the use of resources which they influence and for which
they are responsible to provide the maximum benefit to their
employing organisation;
(f) complying both with the letter and the spirit of:
i. the law of the country in which they practise;
ii. Institute guidance on professional practice;
iii. contractual obligations;
Equality and Diversity:
Procurement as an area which can influence and promote best practice in
respect of services procured which have a high propensity to impacting on
Equality and Diversity issues.
Equality is about a fairer society where everyone can participate and has
the opportunity to fulfill their potential.
Diversity is about the recognition and valuing of difference in its broadest
sense. It is about creating a culture and practices that recognise, respect,
value and harness difference for the benefit of patients, carers, members of
the public and members of staff.
Third parties providing goods and service to NHSS must adhere to these
principles and the Procurement Officers charged with establishing these
arrangements must ensure safe guards are put in place within the
agreements to mitigate risks of breaching them
Fairtrade:
Fairtrade is about fair terms of trade for farmers and
workers in the developing world e.g :
•Better Prices
•Decent Working Conditions
•Local Sustainability
Initial focus on fairtrade beverages and snacks as part
of the overall catering supplies strategy.
Serious and Organised Crime (SOC):
The Scottish Crime and Drugs Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) has
identified the risk of SOC groups gaining from public sector contracts
through their involvement in companies bidding for such contracts.
SCDEA guidance is that organisations engaged in SOC tend to be chaotic
in their nature and will find it difficult to maintain consistent systems and
processes to the extent expected from bona fide companies.
NHSS procurement services have developed a ‘SOC Mitigation Strategy’
which has been endorsed by the SCDEA .
The strategy focuses on identifying:
• At risk procurements (At risk markets)
• Limiting access to bona fide tenders (Enhanced PQQ)
• Establishing that candidate companies and bidders have the
ability to consistently deliver the required goods or services over
the contract duration (Enhanced Specification and Award
Assessment).
Ethical Procurement Labour Framework (Child Labour)
Key principles:
•
It is unacceptable to NHSS that any goods or services procured
use Child Labour in any part of the associated supply chain.
•
It is recognised that the use of child labour continues to be a
significant problem across world-wide supply chains particularly in
sub-contracted manufacturing within the developing world.
•
Use of child labour can be very difficult to identify in complex
world-wide supply chains.
•
NHSS will work with it’s key suppliers to help achieve this aim.
.
NHSS Ethical Procurement SLWG is charged with developing this
framework and today will help enormously in getting it right.
NHS Scotland - Ethical Procurement Policy
Aim
NHS Scotland (NHSS) requires that goods and
services purchased for the delivery of healthcare to
patients are sourced ethically and bought from supply
sources which maintain ethical standards through-out
their supply chains.
Do you think we are on the right track ?