“I’m Kat Horton, Deputy Head of Procurement.

I work in Procurement which is the department which helps the Trust to buy and get delivered the various things that a hospital requires in order to be able to deliver first class care to its patients and their families.  We buy everything from MRI scanners to post it notes, from computers to beds!  I’ve worked for DSFS and the Trust for 2½ years joining as a Senior Procurement Partner and progressing to my current role.

My main responsibility is to ensure that we ensure we get the right products and services, in the right place, at the right time, at the right price and at the right quality, whilst remaining compliant with the Trusts Standing Financial Instructions (SFI’s) and the Public Contract Regulations (2015) which govern how we carry out our processes. For me, a typical day could involve:

• Researching the market and sourcing new products and suppliers,
• Meeting with various stakeholders to update and discuss progress on our projects (both low value (e.g., needles) and large value (e.g., new buildings and equipment for our Urgent Care Village),
• Preparing specification documents to ensure we can select the most economically advantageous supplier (putting together with our contract managers robust evaluation criteria for technical, quality, social value and whole-life cost elements),
• Running e-tendering opportunities both UK and EU wide,
• Holding evaluation days; looking at and selecting new products and services for the Trust based on the previously created specifications,
• Awarding work to suppliers and drafting any relevant agreements and contract documents,
• Generating savings for the Trust,
• Signing off requisitions (purchase orders),
• Supplier Management.

No two days are the same!

Kat Horton, Deputy Head of Procurement