ProCure 21 saves £1.3m on Milton Keynes project

Cost and time savings are already being achieved on the early ProCure 21 projects, according to Peter Woolliscroft, head of construction at NHS Estates.

He told the recent CJ/BRE supply chain conference that on the £12m project to provide a new diagnostic and treatment centre at Milton Keynes, it has taken only six months from when the principal supply chain partner  Norwest Holst was appointed to reach a point where 1:50 detailed plans can be signed off.

This compares with a norm of around six months to appoint a contractor using conventional procurement routes and at least nine more months to agree 1:50 plans. The scheme should also be delivered nine months faster than a traditionally procured project.

The faster selection of contractor and design time represents a saving of £1.3m. Woolliscroft added: "Even if this were halved to reflect the lower intensity of work on a non-ProCure21 project, a saving of £650,000 represents approximately 5.5% of total scheme costs."

However, Woolliscroft warned that one of the most important aspects of the ProCure21 partnering supply chain is educating the client.

"You've got to remember that NHS Estates is not the client - it's the hundreds of NHS Trusts. And these are lay clients. They have a day job, which is delivering healthcare. As the supply chain grows more sophisticated the client can get left behind. So it's important that the supply chain selected to work with that trust integrates with it," Woolliscroft said.