Clinical Community Spotlight – Simon Ball
Simon Ball has worked at NHS Supply Chain for five years within the Rehab and Community Category, serving as the clinical specialist for Pressure Area Care, Patient Handling, Aids for Daily Living, and Wheelchair frameworks.
A physiotherapist by profession, Simon specialised in Musculoskeletal (MSK) services, with his most recent clinical role focused on orthopaedic assessment, where he investigated complex cases and arranged appropriate diagnostic investigations ahead of specialist referral.
Alongside Simon`s clinical experience, he has also worked in digital health, developing and implementing mobile applications to support patient self‑management and to capture clinical outcomes. In addition, Simon led the business development within an occupational health company, establishing physiotherapy clinics in warehouses, factories, and office environments.
These services enabled staff to access rapid physiotherapy advice and treatment with the aim of reducing sickness rates related to MSK conditions.
The newly formed clinical team aligns the Diagnostic Category to the rest of the commercial categories, and his team will ensure the categories have access in house clinical specialists to enhance their already great work, ensuring clinical and patient voices are firmly represented in tendering and strategy.
It’s a real privilege to be developing the new clinical team in diagnostics, it is a fantastic opportunity to show the value of having clinical specialists working alongside in category teams can add in defining functional variation in products, reducing unwarranted variation and driving up clinical standards through procurement and driving best value.
I have come from Rehab and Community, where the clinical team have been embedded within the category teams for a long time and have brought value by applying supplier agnostic product terminology based on functional variance, identifying areas for product standardisation and the clinical engagement to investigate the impact of is, leading the clinical engagement to inform strategies ensuring alignment at national level, supporting trust level procurement projects.
I look forward to bringing this approach to the diagnostics teams, supporting our alignment to national strategies such as the recently released cancer plan.
Simon Ball, Head of Clinical – Diagnostics and Capital Equipment, NHS Supply Chain
Why this role has been created
The creation of a dedicated clinical team within Diagnostics marks a significant investment in specialist expertise and a commitment to deeper collaboration with our category teams. We recognise the crucial value that independent clinical insight brings, and this strengthened capability will play an important role in shaping the future Diagnostics strategy for the NHS. We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues as they join us over the coming months.
Antonia Marks, Director of Diagnostics, Equipment and Services, NHS Supply Chain