A Crown Commercial Service-funded digital platform used by the NHS has identified millions of pounds of potential savings in its first year, the government has announced.
Previously, many NHS-affiliated organisations used different platforms to buy goods and services. These weren’t possible to integrate, meaning it has historically been difficult for buying teams in the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS to share insights and data between organisations in order to make effective commercial decisions.
The Atamis system, which brings together each element of the commercial process in one location, has removed burdensome manual processes and saved millions of pounds in administration costs. This has also freed up capacity in NHS teams while helping health services run more efficiently.
By grouping nine organisations together on the same e-commerce system, NHS services in North West London were able to identify £34 million of potential savings in the past 12 months. These savings could be reinvested in improving patient care.
“Atamis has been key to the development of ICS-based procurement across North West London,” confirms Lee Jackson, Managing Director North West London Procurement Services. “We now have a robust third-party intelligence suite of which Atamis is the cornerstone. In the past 12 months we have integrated all data from all nine NHS Trusts into the system and also the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.”
Cabinet Office Parliamentary Secretary Alex Burghart says: “To meet the Prime Minister’s goal of reducing national debt, we’re making efficiencies for the taxpayer. This platform, funded by the Crown Commercial Service in the Cabinet Office, is a major force for good, helping public bodies like NHS Trusts identify significant savings across the country as we continue working to deliver on the Prime Minister’s commitment to cut waiting lists in the health service.”
The roll out of the Atamis e-commerce system, which was enabled by £12.8 million in funding from Crown Commercial Service (spread over three financial years), has already seen 258 NHS organisations (69% of total) sign up with a further target of 90% by 2025.
In addition to supporting NHS organisations to identify savings, Atamis provides procurement teams with a unified view of the data, which can be segmented according to the need of the organisation, ensuring it’s easier for procurement and commercial teams to make informed decisions that ensure the best value for money for the taxpayer.
