A director of NHS PASA (Purchasing & Supply Agency) has scotched suggestions that the organisation is set to disappear following last month’s announcement that its functions are to be taken over by Buying Solutions (see recruiter. co.uk ‘NHS PASA to close’, 17 June).

“This isn’t about PASA disappearing, it’s about PASA being repositioned in the landscape,” said Helen Mac- Carthy, NHS PASA facilities management and utilities director, speaking exclusively to Recruiter.

“PASA and Buying Solutions are coming together, but this is not to say that the frameworks that are going over to the new organisation are going to be done in any different way to the way they are now. The frameworks will continue to exist, and the terms and conditions for agencies will be the same as we have now.

“At the moment it’s business as usual, and we don’t see any major changes even when we move in and amalgamate the teams.”

MacCarthy hit back at comments made by Kate Bleasdale in Recruiter that PASA fixed the frameworks for three years without an opportunity for review, calling them “inaccurate” and “out of date” perceptions.

“There is an annual review period in each of the frameworks ensuring that people don’t have the perception of being locked into a framework,”said MacCarthy.

MacCarthy also pointed to escalation clauses in some recent frameworks, which allowed recruiters to raise charge rates in certain disciplines
in the middle of a framework should a shortage of candidates develop.

“I don’t see any need to move away from three-year frameworks when you have got flexibility built into them around pricing and quality,” she added.

However, she did not rule out future changes, saying that is something PASA will need to consult on “to understand what the market requires”.

And she raised the possibility of future opportunities for agencies by suggesting that frameworks could be extended into other public sector
facilities which require doctors’ services, such as prisons. “Prisons use doctors too,” she said.

MacCarthy acknowledged that the amount of paperwork for agencies in tendering for frameworks was an issue, especially for smaller agencies. However, she pointed to the work that PASA was doing to lessen the burden. One example, SID (Supplier Information Database) for Health, which allows basic information about agencies such as bank account details to be sent to PASA just once, rather than have to be submitted again and again.