1/10 I’ve been talking to the Procurement Team @Newcastlehosps today. My word, they have done a wonderful job over the last few months in the most difficult circumstances, and I know it’s taken extreme hard work. (a thread) 
2/10 Making sure that we had the right PPE and that it got to the right place at the right time has been the most important factor in helping staff to feel safe throughout the pandemic and I’m very proud of the whole team effort that made sure we didn’t run out of any PPE at all.
3/10 It was great to hear that clinical teams have thanked and appreciated the efforts from procurement, and that we all now have a much greater appreciation of what procurement is all about. It’s come out of the back office and into the frontline!
4/10 The team clearly pulled together throughout the crisis and that’s something that will serve us well in our future response. They also built relationships with new directorates- particularly infection control!
5/10 They also worked closely with existing suppliers and with businesses in the city and region like @BarbourInt and the @NEEChamber who pulled out all the stops. A real community response.
6/10 I heard a lot of emotion in our discussion – the responsibility of sourcing and providing essential and life saving equipment was huge, but also a real pride in a job well done.
7/10 There’s now a great opportunity to improve our supply chain in a proactive way, building on the networking, trust and strong relationships that have been developed so that we can make the most of the resources we purchase and our spending power.
8/10 I’d like to see us spending more locally so that we can support local jobs and communities. That's an important part of our role as an anchor organisation supporting the health, wealth and wellbeing of the #NorthEast
9/10 We also talked about how to support team members more in new ways of working. We need to manage with a different mindset now – which is about flexibility, discretion and trust. We need to support our people and our systems to be resilient and confident in the new situation
10/10 Finally can I say a heartfelt thank you to everyone in the team for their hard work and dedication. We truly couldn’t have done it without you and I know that hard work will continue through whatever comes next.
