FOI – 000115 NSS Procurement & Project Management (HTML)
Date received – 14 May 2022 | Date responded – 14 June 2022
Request
Could I submit the following FOI?
You may be aware of the Scottish Stoma Nurse Specialist Group. They seem to be hosted by and funding provided by the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA).
Has NSS/Procurement/etc since the 1st of January 2016 commissioned this group (Scottish Stoma Nurse Specialist Group) to undertake any pieces of work and if it has could you provide details of that work and the contract/agreement under which this work was undertaken?
Has NSS/Procurement/etc since the 1st of January 2016 provided Project Management/Secretariat Support to any pieces of work undertaken by the (Scottish Stoma Nurse Specialist Group) and if it has could you provide details of that work and the contract/agreement under which this work was undertaken?
Is it usual practice for NSS/Procurement/etc to provide project Management/Secretariat Support to groups that are not public bodies (or run by/administered by) like the Scottish Nurse Specialist Group?
Could you provide a list of all organisations/groups not under the auspices of NSS that you have provided project management/secretariat support to since the 1st of January 2016?
What is the process for a group/or individual (not under NSS) seeking the project management/secretariat support of NSS for their group?
What process does NSS undertake when a group (not under NSS) seeks project management/secretariat support, what stages does it go through, the process of authorisation and the decision taken on whether to undertake this work for free or indeed charge a fee?
Could you detail the process and authorisations needed for NSS staff to attend meetings of groups funded by non-government bodies and is there any different process (if there is please provide it) where NSS staff attend meetings where political lobbyists are in attendance?
Is the Therapeutics Branch and Effective Prescribing Programme Board under the auspices of NSS?
You will be aware that the Scottish Nurse Specialist Group undertook a piece of work in circa 2016/17 looking at stoma support garments and produced a report dated June 2019. Could you please provide this report, all its appendices and its terms of reference? Further to this did NSS/National Procurement commission this report and did NSS/National procurement provide any supports to this group?
Can I remind you that under the FOI act that you should be helpful to members of the public in finding information and importantly while you should provide a response within 20 days, if you have the information available before the 20 days you should forward it as soon as you reasonably can (Ie not wait until day 19).
Response
I refer to your freedom of information request that we received on 14 May 2022. I can advise you that we have now completed the search of our records and can provide you with the following information:
You may be aware of the Scottish Stoma Nurse Specialist Group. They seem to be hosted by and funding provided by the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA).
1. Has NSS/Procurement/etc since the 1st of January 2016 commissioned this group (Scottish Stoma Nurse Specialist Group) to undertake any pieces of work and if it has could you provide details of that work and the contract/agreement under which this work was undertaken?
NSS Procurement has not commissioned the Scottish Stoma Nurse Specialist Group to undertake any pieces of work.
2. Has NSS/Procurement/etc since the 1st of January 2016 provided Project Management/Secretariat Support to any pieces of work undertaken by the (Scottish Stoma Nurse Specialist Group) and if it has could you provide details of that work and the contract/agreement under which this work was undertaken?
NSS Procurement had provided Project Management/Secretariat Support to the Scottish Stoma Nurse Specialist Group as part of the work in producing the following two reports:
Scottish Stoma Clinical Nurse Specialist Group Effective Use of Support Garments for Parastomal Hernia Results of Short Life Working Group. (Appendix 1).
National Stoma Quality Improvement SLWG (NSQIG) Final Report. (Appendix 2). Under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act an organisation does not require to provide information if it does not hold that information. NHS National Services Scotland has done a search of our records and found no contract/agreement exists but the service provided exists in the Terms of Reference (ToR) attached as FOI – 000115 Appendix 3 Scottish Stoma Nurse Specialist.
3. Is it usual practice for NSS/Procurement/etc to provide project Management/Secretariat Support to groups that are not public bodies (or run by/administered by) like the Scottish Nurse Specialist Group?
Historically, NSS Procurement has provided Management/Secretariat Support to groups that are not public bodies as a means of reducing the public cost and to prevent front line clinical experts being removed from their roles to provide their own project management/secretariat support.
4. Could you provide a list of all organisations/groups not under the auspices of NSS that you have provided project management/secretariat support to since the 1st of January 2016?
Our Programme Management Services (PgMS) have worked with the following organisations/groups that do not fall under NSS:
• Scottish Government
• Health Boards – both territorial boards and special/national
• Forestry Commission
• Food Standards Scotland
• Stirling Council
Additionally, the secretariat role is also provided as part of a project management service.
Our Board Services team have worked with the following organisations/groups that do not fall under NSS:
• NHSS Board Chairs Group
• NHSS Board Chief Executives Group
• Scotland's Executive Nurse Directors (SEND)
• Scottish Association of Medical Directors (SAMD)
• Committee of the Faculty of Public Health Scotland
• Scottish Health Protection Consultants Group
• CHI Management Board
• Caldicott Guardian Forum
• Scottish Dental Practice Board
• National Board Collaborative Programme Board
• Pharmacy Practice Committee (run by each Health Board)
• National Appeal Panel (for the Pharmacy Practice Committees)
• National Evaluation Committee
• Scottish Advisory Committee on Distinction Awards (SACDA)
• National Planning Board
• National Specialist Services Committee
• Business systems programme board
• Joint local negotiating committee (JLNC)
Additionally, the team have supported our HR service by providing case management secretariat support to external health boards – such as NHS Dumfries & Galloway and NHS Forth Valley.
5. What is the process for a group/or individual (not under NSS) seeking the project management/secretariat support of NSS for their group?
The processes for a group/or individual seeking the project management/secretariat are detailed below:
PgMS:
Requests for project or programme management support are received and assessed to confirm if appropriate for PgMS to assist. These are governed through a Portfolio Management Group. A senior staff member will typically meet with the potential customer to discuss and confirm their requirements including resources and duration. Indicative costs for resources are advised at this stage. Some requests will be withdrawn at this stage. Requests are added to the PgMS demand pipeline, when appropriate available resources are allocated to the agreed engagement. A Service Level Agreement documents the work to be undertaken, confirming dates and costs. PgMS and the Customer the sign this agreement. PgMS deploy a cost recovery model in accordance with the NSS Rate Card. All project management services provided to organisations external to NSS are chargeable.
Board Services:
The process for approval is typically through the NHSS Chief Executive Group or NSS depending on the request. The team is made up of a number of baseline-funded roles and some income-funded roles determined and flexed by the volume of demand.
6. What process does NSS undertake when a group (not under NSS) seeks project management/secretariat support, what stages does it go through, the process of authorisation and the decision taken on whether to undertake this work for free or indeed charge a fee?
The processes NSS undertake when a group seeks project management/secretariat support are detailed below:
PgMS:
Requests for project or programme management support are received and assessed to confirm if appropriate for PgMS to assist. These are governed through a Portfolio Management Group. A senior staff member will typically meet with the potential customer to discuss and confirm their requirements including resources and duration. Indicative costs for resources are advised at this stage. Some requests will be withdrawn at this stage. Requests are added to the PgMS demand pipeline, when appropriate available resources are allocated to the agreed engagement. A Service Level Agreement documents the work to be undertaken, confirming dates and costs. PgMS and the Customer the sign this agreement. PgMS deploy a cost recovery model in accordance with the NSS Rate Card. All project management services provided to organisations external to NSS are chargeable.
Board Services:
The process for approval is typically through the NHSS Chief Executive Group or NSS depending on the request. The team is made up of a number of baseline-funded roles and some income-funded roles determined and flexed by the volume of demand.
7. Could you detail the process and authorisations needed for NSS staff to attend meetings of groups funded by non-government bodies and is there any different process (if there is please provide it) where NSS staff attend meetings where political lobbyists are in attendance?
PgMS:
Under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act an organisation does not require to provide information if it does not hold that information. NHS National Services Scotland does not hold this information. Staff will attend meetings of key stakeholders as required by the remit of the particular project. Generally, these stakeholders work for the customer organisation or are service users of that organisation. We are not aware of any meetings PgMS staff have attended where political lobbyists are in attendance.
Board Services:
Under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act an organisation does not require to provide information if it does not hold that information. NHS National Services Scotland does not hold this information. Staff will attend meetings as required by the remit of the particular board/committee terms of reference to provide secretariat support, direction of which would be given by the appropriate Senior Reporting Officer, Executive Lead or Chair.
8. Is the Therapeutics Branch and Effective Prescribing Programme Board under the auspices of NSS?
The Therapeutics Branch and Effective Prescribing Programme Board are not under the auspices of NSS. This information is available on the internet at:
Non-medicines – Effective Prescribing and Therapeutics (scot.nhs.uk)
9. You will be aware that the Scottish Nurse Specialist Group undertook a piece of work in circa 2016/17 looking at stoma support garments and produced a report dated June 2019. Could you please provide this report, all its appendices and its terms of reference? Further to this did NSS/National Procurement commission this report and did NSS/National procurement provide any supports to this group?
NSS Procurement provided Project Management/Secretariat Support only and did not commission this report. Please find below and attached the report, appendices and ToR:
Appendix 1 - Effective Use of Support Garments for Parastomal Hernia SLWG
Appendix 3 - Scottish Stoma Nurse Group Terms of Reference
Appendix 4 - Scottish Stoma Nurse Group questionnaire
Appendix 5 - Parastomal Hernia Management
Appendix 6 - Parastomal Hernia Prevention
Appendix 7 - Parastomal Hernia Risk Assessment
Appendix 8 - NHS Scotland Stoma Support Garment Worksheet
Appendix 9 - SLWG Level 1 Garments
Appendix 10 - SLWG Level 2 Garments
I trust you will find the information of assistance and if you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.
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Address
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