Genmed has announced that it is delivering a variety of cost competitive vendor neutral managed services for the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust, Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and a shared medical microbiology service run by the two organisations which supports around 700,000 people in the local area.
Launched in 2012, the Chester and Wirral Microbiology Service (CWMS) is a collaboration between the two trusts designed to improve patient care, enhance efficiency yet cut operating costs in line with Lord Carter of Cole’s recommendations that pathology expenditure should reduce by between 10-20%. It is addition to other areas the two Trusts jointly partner on such as cervical screening and immunology services.
The Trusts had a clear mandate to create a joint microbiology service given both had ageing laboratory buildings and the service in Wirral and West Cheshire was costing around £6.5 million each year. The old onsite facilities were shut, the staffing structure reviewed to achieve economies of scale and a new laboratory bought and located nearby in Bromborough, South Wirral. This is saving about £700,000 per annum on buildings and salaries. The team then turned its attention to procurement benefits.
Genmed is administering a variety of managed services involving the following:
To date, across all managed services, Genmed has sourced £1,238,706.19 worth of consumables and also associated equipment.
Andrew Bamber, pathology integration director for Wirral & West Cheshire, says, “With Genmed’s managed services eligible for 20% VAT recovery, we’re saving in total £173,418.86 across the three organisations after their management fee is taken into account.”
Genmed currently contracts separately with the Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust for managed services associated with its hospital and the CWMS, with Wirral University Teaching Hospital signing its own contract. To simplify procurement, this will be consolidated in time so that there is just one Genmed contract overarching the joint services.
Genmed managed services deliver clear benefits
Genmed was selected as the preferred managed services provider for a variety of reasons summarised below:
Structure in place to support future pathology developments in the region
The creation of CWMS is also likely to be a building block for future developments in the region as pathology services in England are reviewed and consolidated into 29 hubs – an initiative currently being proposed and driven by NHS Improvement.
Clearly this is about working more effectively and removing unwarranted variation and cost. This is key as the workload in pathology is ever increasing – in the Wirral and West Cheshire area alone it is estimated that growth is 6% year on year.
Andrew Bamber, concludes, “What I’m particularly pleased about is we’re getting better value and lower prices from suppliers through our Genmed managed service contracts, all with less management effort. I’m comfortable we’re doing the right thing.”
Robin Modak, Genmed’s chief executive officer, says, “Genmed’s focus is on supporting the clinical output and through our reporting, improving the quality of the Trust’s decision-making process. A consequence of our presence is we take on the administrative burdens, rationalise and standardise pricing, reduce costs, speed up purchasing and minimise administration associated with invoice processing and payments. It all boosts efficiency and ultimately hospital productivity because clinical people can focus on patient care.”