New de Poel health division aims to save the NHS 20% says MD

The managing director of a newly-launched division of temporary labour procurer de Poel says he aims to reduce the cost of procuring non-permanent staff in the NHS by up to 20%.
Tue, 5 Nov 2013The managing director of a newly-launched division of temporary labour procurer de Poel says he aims to reduce the cost of procuring non-permanent staff in the NHS by up to 20%.

Andrew Preston, managing director of de Poel Clarity, de Poel’s newly-launched standalone division focusing on the NHS and the private healthcare sector, says: “When you consider that the annual agency spend in the NHS is £2.5bn, there is clearly a real potential to manage the procurement of agency staff more effectively, while delivering significant cost savings of up to 20%.”

Preston has more than 18 years’ experience in the NHS, private health and care sectors, having worked for Serco Group, Medacs Healthcare and Pinderfields & Pontefract Hospitals NHS Trust, which later became Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Following his appointment, Preston says: “Though the standardisation of pay rates and selecting a hand-picked panel of recruitment agencies that comply with optimal rates across the board, we can streamline invoicing and timesheet processes, create visibility and control of vital management information (MI), and ensure trusts are compliant. We are confident that we can replicate the type of efficiencies gained in the private health and care sectors and provide clear, effective and cost-saving solutions to NHS trusts.”

He adds: “As the government sets out its agenda for ‘Better Procurement, Better Value, Better Care’, we believe our transparent, entirely independent and cost-effective approach will provide greater management and control for healthcare providers, while generating increased efficiencies across the NHS and private health and care sectors.
 
“With over 2,000 recruitment agencies of all shapes and sizes supporting the de Poel model, we are completely behind the UK government’s SME agenda. What’s more, in the public and private healthcare sectors, we are creating a level playing field, where we are encouraging agencies to compete on quality of service and less on candidate pay rate.”
 

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