NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

About NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is the largest of the fourteen territorial health boards in Scotland, serving Glasgow and the surrounding local authority areas. It runs the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus, several other acute sites, mental health services, community health and a share of national specialist services delivered on behalf of the rest of Scotland.

Its procurement position is worth understanding precisely. Nationally contracted goods come through NHS National Services Scotland, so a board of this size publishes far fewer supplies notices than its budget would suggest. What the board buys in its own name is what national contracts do not cover: local clinical service delivery, estate and capital works, facilities support, and specialist requirements unique to its own services.

Recent awards by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Award notices appear on Public Contracts Scotland. The count is modest relative to the board's size, and that is a structural feature rather than an anomaly: the national procurement layer absorbs most of the goods volume, leaving the board's own notice history weighted towards services and works.

For suppliers this means the award history is a poor guide to the board's total spend but a very good guide to what it actually contracts for locally. Reading it that way, rather than as a proxy for budget, produces a much more useful target list.

Frameworks NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde uses

The board buys principally through national contracts and framework agreements established by National Procurement within NHS National Services Scotland. Where a national arrangement exists, the board calls off from it. Where one does not, the board runs its own competition or uses a wider Scottish public sector collaborative arrangement.

Crown Commercial Service framework references also appear on its notices, which reflects the use of UK wide agreements for corporate categories where no Scottish equivalent is in place. Construction and estate works typically run through capital frameworks appointed for programmes rather than single projects.

Common CPVs procured by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Division 85, health and social work services, leads and covers commissioned clinical and care delivery. Division 45, construction work, and division 71, architectural, construction, engineering and inspection services, sit high in the profile and reflect a large acute estate with continuous capital and maintenance activity. Division 72 covers IT services and division 33 medical equipment, the latter appearing where the board buys outside national contracts. That construction weighting is the clearest difference between a territorial health board and a national supplies body: one runs buildings, the other runs a catalogue.

Frequently asked questions

Should I approach the board or NHS National Services Scotland?

If you sell clinical consumables, devices, pharmaceuticals or laboratory supplies, approach National Procurement within NHS National Services Scotland, because those categories are contracted nationally and the board buys under those contracts. If you sell construction, estates, facilities, specialist local services or something no national contract covers, the board itself is the right customer.

Does the board buy for other parts of Scotland?

In some specialist areas, yes. Greater Glasgow and Clyde hosts several regional and national specialist services delivered on behalf of patients from other board areas. Where that applies, a contract awarded by this board may cover activity well beyond its own geography, which the specification will normally state.

Which portal carries its notices?

Public Contracts Scotland. Above threshold notices also appear on Find a Tender. As with all Scottish public bodies, monitoring only the UK wide platforms will miss a large share of activity, because the Scottish portal carries lower value opportunities that never reach Find a Tender.

How is capital works procurement organised?

Major capital projects generally run through framework arrangements with a pre appointed set of contractors, appointed for a programme of work rather than a single scheme. Specialist trades and consultants usually reach these projects through the appointed contractor's supply chain rather than through a direct competition with the board, so supply chain engagement is normally the more productive route.