Although we mostly share good news on research and research staff, there are many hidden NHS Heroes within Grampian. These people may not directly work in research but their roles are important for making sure that research along with other important NHS work is able to be carried out. We asked Ailidh Fraser in Procurement to tell us about their work in NHS Grampian (NHSG).
What is involved?
“The Procurement team are a group of administrative staff who have expert knowledge on a wide range of NHS services involving or interested in the activities relating to purchasing of materials and supplies required for NHSG. Since COVID we have had to source new suppliers, and products to ensure that we have the suitable quality and quantity of stock to allow NHSG to perform at the highest of standards as business as usual. In many cases, this requires a lot of knowledge relating to stock data sheets & specifications to ensure it qualifies for use against COVID. COVID has also affected many normal procedures and the equipment used, leaving the sourcing teams having to find suitable alternatives for every day stock items.
We have created a new team under procurement for all COVID stock emergencies within acute & non-acute, and allocations relating to Primary Care areas. Stock has become more restricted and we have followed requirements, as per Government guidelines, while the stock levels within Britain begin to decrease. We make sure that no-one in any area, is left struggling and under pressure relating to normal day-to-day procedures or Covid related PPE.
We do not only do this for Covid, or PPE, we also have effect on all areas requiring the correct stock and PPE levels to ensure normal seasonal practices such like the FLU and soon to be Vaccine.“
What impact does your work have?
“Without the procurement team, all areas within NHSG would be affected because without the stock the normal practices and day to day protocols would be unable to be performed! We also have close knit connections with transport, (who are also based within our building), they do the picking and packing of all requests made by procurement. They aim to deliver these in an appropriate timely manner to ensure all areas have the efficient stock and do not have periods of shortages. This can sometimes be difficult and careful strategic planning has been our approach since the beginning of COVID.
Without these key roles, the Supply Chain would have a major effect on NHSG service and the service would really struggle. Everyone here plays a key role in our performance, and we are lucky to have the team that we do.”
Thank you to all of the staff in the Procurement team for all your hard work!