Vista Healthcare

Vista Healthcare has a geographical spread across the UK with six care homes and one independent hospital with 69 beds.

Questions answered by Adam Parry, Director of Estates.

Why did you join IHP?

We met IHP at the Care Industry Forum in London. We found that there was common ground and conducted a cost analysis exercise which illustrated the potential savings available.

What savings do you expect to make annually?

We initially began looking at our food procurement via IHP and we are expecting to see savings circa £50,000 to £70,000 in this area alone. I expect that there will be further savings to be made across all procurement areas.

What benefits has IHP generated for your organisation?

IHP has enabled us to improve our purchasing, creates significant savings and ensures we are procuring from a sustainable source.

How has IHP helped your organisation maximise the savings available to you?

IHP conducted initial cost analysis on a sample of items we purchase from our incumbent supplier. A saving of 38% was achieved. IHP then benchmarked further items to show a more in-depth analysis. It was also advised that we negotiated special rates of non-contract items to ensure we saved further amounts of budget.

How has IHP delivered effective contract management on behalf of your organisation?

IHP's Account Manager, Matt Hanley and I have formed a key relationship. We speak regularly and I feel IHP completely understands our needs and key drivers. If I am unable to get hold of Matt, I have key contacts within the organisation across the Procurement, Central Billing and Marketing departments.

How has central billing helped to streamline your purchasing?

Central Billing will improve our service remarkably. Prior to having Central Billing it was difficult to manage all invoices. Central Billing has made our systems more streamlined. It provides a solution that will help us to achieve our objective to become a paperless office. In addition, I am confident this system will offer us other indirect savings.

How will your residents/patients benefit from the savings you make?

My aim within Vista Healthcare is creating more "lean and robust" systems/contracts within the Organisation - I am happy to say IHP has contributed to this goal. As a result, our residents will not notice any drop in quality despite moving or changing suppliers. The move enables me to re-invest the savings into the services we offer.

What would you say to other healthcare providers that are considering becoming a member of IHP?

I would highly encourage other organisations to engage with IHP. They have a fantastic offering and cover almost everything your organisation requires to function. Without IHP we would not have been able to make significant savings. I would advise any organisation to try IHP in one area of spend and see if they can achieve you savings... as I am sure they can!