Nurses Leading Sustainable Procurement

In a recent Nursing Times interview, NHS Supply Chain’s National Clinical Executive Director, Michelle Johnson, shared how nurses and midwives are uniquely positioned to lead the NHS’s sustainability journey through smarter procurement.

As the largest workforce and biggest consumers in the NHS, nurses have the power to influence what is bought, how it’s used, and how waste is reduced.

Michelle emphasised the importance of empowering frontline staff to make informed, sustainable choices.

I’m not compromising on safety – that remains paramount, but I think there is a lot more we can do as nurses to really challenge ourselves about reducing use, making better use of what we do have, and that circular economy of just reusing where we can, where it is safe to do so.

Michelle Johnson, National Clinical Executive Director, NHS Supply Chain

She also highlighted the value of centralised procurement in securing high-quality, cost-effective products for the entire NHS: “The value of that is you’re doing it once for the whole NHS, which means we can negotiate the best quality products at the best price.”

Michelle’s insights underscore the critical role nurses and midwives have in helping the NHS meet its sustainability targets, while continuing to deliver high-quality care.

She pointed to “amazing examples” of nurses and clinical procurement teams already driving greener practices, such as cutting back on unnecessary glove usage and minimising the use of couch roll.

Reflecting on her own experience as a chief nurse, she added: “You’re responsible for a big budget, and a significant amount of that budget is non-pay, which is all the things that you need to buy through procurement. “We have to pay attention to that and realise that we can influence what’s used in a hospital.”

See our Useful Links section to read the full article featuring Michelle.