Four industry leaders have been hired to strengthen and increase the value of partnerships with the NHS’s strategic suppliers, including AstraZeneca, GSK and Pfizer.
The business leaders will be ‘health crown representatives’ working to implement a national strategic supplier relationship management (SSRM) programme, which aims to use the NHS’s scale and influence to strengthen partnerships across 15 key suppliers (see list below).
It will be a joint venture between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and the Cabinet Office. The team will work with the suppliers in order to ‘deliver additional value, unlock opportunities and manage risks.
The crown representative programme was introduced in 2011 as a way for government to engage with key suppliers. The network of crown representatives acts as a ‘focal point’ for particular groups of providers looking to supply the public sector. It helps the government to act as a single customer, according to the DHSC.
The new health crown representatives hired include:
- Deb Steane, an executive with 27 years of leadership experience in the MedTech sector at Johnson & Johnson. She also spent 10 years in the NHS as a medical microbiologist at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
- Keith Nurcombe, who founded Doctorlink in 2016. He specialises in digital transformation and led initiatives such as the roll out of shared care record systems and electronic patient record programmes. He also serves as non-executive director at Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Trusts, Humber Teaching Hospital NHS and WM5G which is part of the combined authority in the West Midlands.
- Oliver Cofler, who has an engineering background and began his career in manufacturing before moving into consultancy with PwC. He has held leadership positions at Alliance Healthcare and Millbrook Healthcare and is non-executive director at South Warwickshire University Hospitals Trust.
- Paul Richards, who has led businesses across healthcare, life sciences, health technology and digital transformation. He also serves as non-executive director at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust and chairs the One Devon NHS EPR implementation board.
Health minister Karin Smyth said: ‘Our healthcare system cannot function without its suppliers. They play a critical role in driving innovation, ensuring better value for taxpayers and putting more money in people’s pockets through long-term growth. The new Health Crown Representatives bring a wealth of experience from the private sector to the table, and they will help us work with our strategic suppliers in the best way.
‘As we bring forward our 10 Year Health Plan, aligning the government’s objectives with our suppliers’ capabilities and innovations will be crucial to deliver the NHS fit for the future that we all want to see.’
It comes as research suggested it would take an estimated £21bn over the next five years to digitise the NHS and adult social care.
Health secretary Wes Streeting said in December 2024 that the shift from analogue to digital is the one thing that will make a ‘demonstrable improvement’ to the NHS.
The 15 strategic suppliers included in the programme are:
- Abbott
- AstraZeneca
- Circle Health Group
- GSK
- ISS
- Johnson & Johnson
- Olympus Keymed
- Optum (formerly EMIS)
- Medtronic
- Pfizer
- Roche
- Sandoz
- Sodexo
- Spire Healthcare
- Teva
ISS and Sodexo will retain their Cabinet Office Crown Representatives but are also strategic to health.
Source: DHSC
