UK Procurement Act 2023 Now in Effect—Will It Help the NHS Finally Get the Technology It Needs?
The UK Procurement act 2023 is now in effect, which should bring a fundamental shift in how the NHS will procure solutions.
For years, procurement decisions in the NHS have been constrained by costs, often leading to low-cost solutions that fail to deliver meaningful benefits. But the new legislation introduces key changes that nudge procurement from cost-sensitive to value-based decisions.
So, will this new legislation finally help the NHS acquire the technology it needs? Let’s look at the 3 changes that can move the NHS away from a system driven by cost-cutting and towards one that prioritises value generation.
1. From MEAT to MAT (prioritising value over cost)
Public contracts have historically been awarded based on the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT), meaning that cost was often the primary driver in procurement decisions.
The Procurement Act 2023 replaces MEAT with Most Advantageous Tender (MAT)—a crucial change that will encourage procurement teams to consider wider benefits beyond price alone.
But while the policy has changed, the reality on the ground is far more challenging. Integrated Care Boards (ICBS) have a mandate to cut their running costs by 50%, making it all too easy for procurement teams to fall back into cost-driven decision-making. When budgets are tight, the instinct is to chase upfront savings, but buy cheap, buy twice.
Short-term cost-cutting has already led to decisions that waste money rather than save it. Poorly chosen solutions fail to deliver, require constant workarounds, or need replacing altogether. The cheapest option often turns out to be an expensive mistake.
If procurement teams can navigate these financial constraints while staying committed to value-based decision-making, this change could drive the adoption of digital solutions that deliver real impact, sustainable for the long term, and, crucially, will now need to prove that they do.
2. Supplier accountability (delivering on the promise)
The Act introduces greater supplier accountability, so vendors will need to demonstrate the benefits of their solution. If a solution fails to deliver on its promise, suppliers can be penalised or excluded.
This is a major shift from previous procurement models, where long-term contracts locked the NHS into technology that failed to deliver value proportional to its (often significant) cost. One well-known example is Electronic Patient Record (EPR) systems, which have historically struggled to meet expectations. In contrast, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models operate differently, where vendors are incentivised to continuously improve and demonstrate their value or risk healthcare organisations terminating their subscription.
Now, with the new procurement rules, whether long-term contracts or SaaS, it will force suppliers to prove real-world impact, ensuring the NHS invests in technology that genuinely benefits organisations, and ultimately, patients.
3. Encouraging better engagement (solving real problems)
Another key aspect of the Procurement Act 2023 is its focus on early engagement between suppliers, service users, and patients.
This will help address one of the bigger issues in NHS tech—the implementation of digital solutions that fail to meet the real needs of clinicians and frontline staff, leaving their core challenges unresolved and the expected efficiency gains unmet.
By encouraging more discussions between stakeholders, this will help ensure the right solutions are implemented for the right problems. This is a critical step towards ensuring digital transformation in the NHS actually improves care delivery, making sure the shift from analogue to digital is driven by real needs and leads to meaningful change rather than adopting technology for the sake of digitisation.
Will NHS procurement finally deliver the right digital solutions?
The UK Procurement Act 2023 is a move towards value-based procurement, with stronger supplier accountability and greater engagement between stakeholders, all of which should, in theory, lead to more impactful solutions for the NHS.
However, the success of this shift will depend on how the Act and these new principles are interpreted and implemented in practice. Value is ultimately determined by those making purchasing decisions, and without the right approach, cost-driven procurement could persist under a different guise.
Adding to the uncertainty is the abolition of NHS England. With this major structural change on the horizon, it remains unclear how procurement will be managed across regions and whether the drive for value will be consistently applied.
But if the Act is implemented effectively, it could allow the NHS to move beyond short-term cost-cutting and towards future-proof investments that deliver tangible improvements in care. If this shift takes hold, the NHS may finally secure the technology it has long needed.
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