Watchdog receives powers to regulate UK health procurement

The UK government is set to give a watchdog powers to regulate health procurement as part of its plans to overhaul one of the country’s major health bodies.

Under the Bill, the watchdog (Monitor) will have powers to investigate complaints against commissioning boards of consortia that fail to comply with procurement rules. 

The move follows plans to put GPs in charge of spending on primary healthcare. Doctors will be able to form consortia which will control commissioning in the area.

The government’s policy has provoked criticism from procurement professionals. They claim that GPs will not have sufficient training or experience to avoid common pitfalls in the procurement process, citing risk management, supplier relationship management and EU law as areas of expertise where GPs may be lacking.

The Bill described regulations that may impose requirements on the peak service (NHS) for the purpose of securing that “they adhere to good practice in relation to procurement”.

It said commissioning groups must “promote competition in the provision of health care services” and that they may “impose requirements relating to competitive tendering for the provision of services and the management of conflicts between the interests involved”.

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