Healthcare Furniture – Buying Guide
The Healthcare Furniture framework brings together the previous three furniture frameworks:
- Medical Furniture and Sack Holders
- Ward and Residential Furniture
- Furniture for Challenging Environments.
All furniture products are now provided through one easy to use framework, providing you with a central point for all your healthcare furniture requirements.
The structure aims to simplify the framework offering and allows our expert team to support you with your purchase from beginning to end. Our team are here to support all projects no matter the size or value.
The lotting structure for the Healthcare Furniture framework is as follows:
Lot One – Medical Furniture Equipment
- Drug and medicine cabinets and trolleys
- Examination lights
- Infusion, IV or drip stands
- Portering chairs and wheelchairs
- Medical trolleys (e.g. Dressing, resuscitation or medical notes trolleys).
Lot Two – Sack Holders and Bins
- Basic, free-standing, non-fire retardant sack holders
- Hybrid sack holders
- Metal sack holders
- Plastic sack holdersRecycle bins.
Lot Three – Ward and Residential Furniture including Birthing Furniture (except beds)
- Armchairs (including Bariatric)
- Bedside cabinets and lockers
- Easy chairs (including Bariatric)
- Over bed and over chair tables
- Patient bedside chairs (including Bariatric).
Lot Four – Challenging Environment Furniture
- Box base beds
- Dressing tables
- Foam seating (including de-escalation chairs and bean bags)
- Settees
- Wardrobes.
Lot Five – Multi-Sensory Equipment Including Dementia Products
- Bubble tubes and columns
- Dementia pods, scenes and sky scenes
- General multi-sensory equipment
- LED projectors
- Tactile panels.
Please See our Downloads ▼ section for the full product range in each lot. Found in the Healthcare Furniture Brochure PDF.
How to Order
Inform
Trusts inform NHS Supply Chain: Hotel Services of the product they are looking for and what features it requires.
Quotes
Category specialists will review the requirement and approach suppliers for quotes on behalf of the trust.
Review
Quotes are checked for accuracy by the Category Team and shared with the trust for review and evaluation based on pre-set criteria.
Evaluate
We will work with trusts to carry out the evaluation (if required). Including obtaining of samples and providing insight back to any unsuccessful suppliers.
Purchase
NHS Supply Chain: Hotel Services provide the trust with a Unique Reference Number (URN) to enable them to raise a purchase order for the goods.
Customer Testimonial
“I have recently used the NHS Supply Chain: Hotel Services Healthcare Furniture framework to assist with a project to fully furnish our new residential building. The build was 176 rooms across 66 apartments.
The initial engagement with the Category Tower was a scoping exercise to see what items were available and to get indicative costings. The team were so helpful, providing a list, approaching all the relevant suppliers, and then collated the information into one simple spreadsheet all within a week. The information returned was thorough, with any items not covered in the framework highlighted for me. Details and contact information was provided so I could follow up for further information from suppliers.
This then enabled me to make the decision to do a restricted tender with the suppliers on the framework. The team provided me with all the required paperwork, saving a lot of admin time. The Category Specialist made himself available for any questions or queries I had throughout the entire process.”
I would happily use this framework again, thank you to the team.
Stacey Budge, Senior Procurement Project Officer, Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
The Benefits
- Our expert team have years of experience in purchasing healthcare furniture for NHS trusts and will be involved throughout the entire process.
- The team have experience of where things can occasionally be missed and know what to look out for when placing large or complex orders.
- We provide a bespoke service to meet your requirements. Freeing up valuable resource within the trust to work on other projects, with the peace of mind that work is underway, and the process is being handled efficiently.
- There is no minimum level of purchase needed to receive this support. Our team can add value to a trusts’ procurement exercise no matter the cost or volume.
- Full support from a dedicated CRM Team and working closely with our Implementation and Adoption Specialists (I&A Team).
- We will work with you and the suppliers to make sure you get the right product the first time.
- We offer support and advice on financial solutions, See our Useful Links section to download a copy of the Finance Solutions Brochure which details options available.
- A wide choice of market leading suppliers from a single source
- The option to utilise both Direct and eDirect routes. You can choose the most appropriate route to best suit your needs.
- The option to apply discount bandings on eDirect lines up to 10 units of issue and further discounts on the direct route for units above 10.
- We offer the ability for you to carry out evaluation days on site and trials (dependant on product), so that everyone has the chance to evaluate the products before the final decision to purchase is made. Our suppliers are also available to provide free advice should you require this.
- This framework is available for use by public sector organisations and NHS trusts.
- Designated lead times for quotes. From the moment of receiving your request, we work to a set service level agreement (SLA) of five working days to get quotes from suppliers.
- Opportunities to save your trust both time and money.
- You can avoid individual trust tendering costs, by using our framework as we complete the tender process for you.
- Request for Quote Tool (RFQ) will ensure the best value and efficient service delivery. For further information on this, please contact HScapitalquotes@supplychain.nhs.uk.
- When procuring via NHS Supply Chain you will be compliant with EU Public Procurement regulations
- Products are guaranteed – Our framework agreement incorporates all the latest required standards and procedures including British Standards (BS), European Standards (EN) and International Standards (ISO). They also incorporate the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA), who are the leading furniture research and testing agency in the UK, to ensure all products supplied under this contract adhere to the very latest BS/EN/ISO standards as well as specific national legislation and NHS-specific procedures and policies.
- Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme (FISP) membership – all suppliers meet environmental and corporate social responsibility obligations set by FISP – focusing on not just environmental issues but also purchasing, end of product life, social and community issues
- Our team work proactively with suppliers to introduce innovative solutions to the range of products offered
- We have made sure that all our suppliers who utilise wood and wood-based materials provide certification that shows they source from well managed and sustainable forests
- We also work with suppliers who offer to recycle and refurbish old furniture.
