Sites needed to take part in vascular compression therapy trial

NHS Supply Chain is supporting a trial of compression therapies for people with venous leg ulcers which is seeking a number of sites from around the country to take part in the study.

VenUS 6 is a National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)-funded randomised controlled trial investigating the clinical and cost effectiveness of different compression therapies, including compression wraps, for the treatment of people with venous leg ulcers.

The trial is looking to involve more sites in participant recruitment and is working with the Community Partnership Team within NHS Supply Chain. See Useful Links section to click through to this.

Melissa Brighton, Community Partnership Lead, said: “Rigorous evidence on the clinical and cost effectiveness of treatments such as compression wraps will help optimise decision making which is why NHS Supply Chain is supporting this research study.”

VenUS 6 is led by Professor Jo Dumville from University of Manchester and run by York Trials Unit. The sponsor is Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.

Professor Dumville said: “We’re aiming to recruit 675 people with venous leg ulcers to participate in VenUS 6. To be included in the trial people must be 18 or over with at least one venous leg ulcer, have an ankle: brachial pressure index  ≥ 0. 8 (taken within the last three months) and be able to tolerate full compression.

“Trial sites will be fully supported in study set-up and conduct. Financial support is via a per participant payment.”

Interested sites should contact their Customer Relationship Manager.

Potential trial sites

The study is keen to hear from any potential sites and currently have limited recruitment from:

• Lincolnshire and Norfolk
• North Yorkshire
• North East (Sunderland, Newcastle, Durham and Middlesbrough)
• Cumbria and Kendal
• Midland counties (between Birmingham and Bristol)
• Devon and Somerset
• Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire

Notes to editors:

This project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment Programme (NIHR: 128625). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

If you require any further information or images, please get in touch. View our Useful Link section to access the NIHR .

About NHS Supply Chain’s role in the Covid-19 response

• The Government has set up new PPE Dedicated Supply Channel which is a parallel supply chain to the normal NHS Supply Chain service. It has been set up by Government to meet the urgent volume requirements for core personal protective equipment (PPE) items, allowing NHS Supply Chain to focus on ensuring the supply of medical devices and clinical consumables to our NHS.

• The Government has set up a dedicated unit to focus on securing supplies of PPE led by the government’s commercial function. This unit is identifying PPE suppliers from across the globe to meet the increasing demand for a growing list of PPE products.  NHS Supply Chain’s PPE buying teams have been seconded to the unit which is led by the government.

• NHS Supply Chain has expanded its operations to support the stand up of seven NHS Nightingale Hospitals set up across the UK, including NHS Nightingale London, Birmingham, North West (Manchester), Yorkshire and the Humber (Harrogate), Bristol, North East (Washington) and Exeter. Equipment and consumables supplied include ventilators, patient monitors and CT scanners.

About NHS Supply Chain

NHS Supply Chain manages the sourcing, delivery and supply of healthcare products, services and food for NHS trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales.

Managing more than 4.5 million orders per year, across 94,000 order points, 17,465 locations and delivering 25 million lines of picked goods to the NHS. NHS Supply Chain system consolidates orders from over 800 suppliers, saving trusts time and money and removing duplication of overlapping contracts.

Lord Carter’s report into efficiency and productivity in the NHS, published in 2015, identified unwarranted variation in procurement across the NHS, resulting in the need to improve operational efficiencies to transform a fragmented procurement landscape. To undertake this transformation the Department of Health and Social Care established the Procurement Transformation Programme (PTP) to deliver a new NHS Supply Chain.

The new NHS Supply Chain was designed to help the NHS deliver clinically assured, quality products at the best value, through a range of specialist buying functions. Its aim is to leverage the buying power of the NHS to negotiate the best deals from suppliers and deliver savings of £2.4 billion back into NHS frontline services by the end of the financial year 2022/23.

The new model consists of eleven specialist buying functions, known as Category Towers, delivering clinical consumables, capital medical equipment and non-medical products such as food and office solutions. Two enabling services for logistics and supporting technology and transactional services which underpin the model.

Key benefits the NHS Supply Chain will bring NHS trusts and suppliers include:

NHS Trusts

• Savings channelled back to frontline services
• Releasing more time for core clinical activities
• Greater NHS clinical involvement in purchasing decision
• More effective introduction of new products.

Suppliers

• Lowering sales and marketing costs
• Single route into the national market
• A joined-up approach across the NHS
• Clear route for innovative products.

On 1 April 2018, a new commercially astute management function of the new NHS Supply Chain called Supply Chain Coordination Limited (SCCL) went ‘live’. The management function is responsible in driving strong commercial capability, providing a relentless approach to creating value, gain competitive advantage, become the strategic procurement partner of choice for the NHS, manage the delivery and performance of the Category Tower Service Providers and its enabling logistics and technology services whilst overseeing continuous improvement. SCCL is a limited company, wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, SCCL is part of the NHS family.