• Supply Chain Resilience
• National Consumables Reserve
• Demand Management
• Personal Protective Equipment Transition

National Consumables Reserve

To ensure supply resilience, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), will continue to hold and manage the National Consumables Reserve within NHS Supply Chain. 

A review of the National Consumables Reserve requirements has been completed, including considering the latest clinical demand projections and the longevity of the stocks on hand. From the outcome of this review, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) have decided to reduce national reserves to new levels.

Starting from 1 December 2021, NHS Supply Chain will be supporting this stock reduction in the following ways.

To ensure suitable stock rotation and appropriate depletion of product surplus to our resilience requirements, short shelf-life products will be subject to stock reduction measures. This approach supports the wider sustainability agenda and aims to reduce the volume of products going to landfills.

Products will be:

• Offered at a discount to customers.
• Offered free of charge to customers for training purposes via the usual route.
• Sold back to suppliers by our Category Tower Service Providers.

For products where we have stock surplus to our resilience requirements, we are offering the opportunity for NHS customers to purchase any of these National Product Codes (NPCs) at a discounted rate. Discounts offered will be on the Ex VAT price.

See our Useful Links section for further information on the product codes available and how to order.

Please note:

• Stock will only be issued in the Minimum Order Quantities (MOQ) specified for each code, which will always be full pallets and deliveries can only be facilitated to one existing NHS Supply Chain delivery location.
• Eaches per pallet will vary by depot, so finalising the eaches for each customer pallet will be done in conjunction with the Customer Services team at your local depot and will be confirmed prior to any order being placed.
• Customers who would like to order a minimum of one pallet (any NPC), should fill in the google form to confirm the items and quantities they are interested in purchasing. A member of the NHS Supply Chain Customer Services team will then contact you to confirm the item availability, pricing, and unit quantities available and to seek confirmation to proceed prior to placing an order on your behalf.
• Any price reductions agreed will be processed via rebate within 60 days of the date of purchase and products will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.