A small agency in Glasgow has won a six-figure contract to be the sole supplier of non-clinical staff to the city’s biggest NHS trust.

Secretarial and Data People, a five-man agency that has been operating in Glasgow for 25 years, was awarded the contract with North Glasgow University Hospitals Trust despite competition from a number of high street agencies.

Joe McAfferty, the firm’s managing director, expects Secretarial and Data People will supply in excess of 50 clerical and administration staff each week to the trust, which employs around 14,000 people.

Previously, the trust had used around six agencies, including Secretarial and Data People, but decided to move to a sole supplier relationship as part of an NHS-wide project to streamline recruitment.

“All the high street names in Glasgow were after the contract,” said McAfferty. “This is a fillip for smaller, privately owned agencies competing against multinationals.”

Since winning the contract, a number of high street agencies that also tendered for the business had approached Secretarial and Data People with a view to sharing the workload, claimed McAfferty. But he said he had rejected these offers.

“We are well known by the NHS as one of the top agencies for service and we’ll cope OK with the volume of work,” he said. Three of the agency’s five staff will be dedicated to the NHS contract