Department of Health to act as the Peppol Authority for the NHS in England

Following the successful completion of a PEPPOL demonstration of technology within the NHS, the Department of Health will now act as the PEPPOL Authority for the NHS in England, fostering the growth of a standards-based eProcurement network.

In May 2014, the Department of Health published the NHS eProcurement Strategy[1], a policy document supporting the NHS Procurement Development Programme. A key element of the strategy is the shift towards the use of standards, not systems, to simplify trading processes and enhance patient care. The eProcurement mandate applies equally to the NHS and its suppliers, requiring the use of GS1 coding and PEPPOL messaging standards, and is implemented for suppliers through the NHS Standard Terms and Conditions of Supply, and for hospitals through the NHS Standard Contract

In September 2015, the Department of Health finalised the legal agreements to establish a PEPPOL Authority, taking responsibility for the governance of the PEPPOL network for NHS Trusts in England. The Department of Health will ensure compliance with the PEPPOL legal framework for access point providers that provide services to NHS, protecting the trustworthiness of the PEPPOL Transport Infrastructure, its model and operations.

“Following the successful completion of the first demonstration of technology[2], showing how PEPPOL will work in the NHS environment, we are moving ahead in our plan for wide adoption”, said Steve Graham, eProcurement Lead at the Department of Health. “We are currently working through a selection process to award central funding to six GS1 and PEPPOL demonstrator trusts who will begin implementation of the PEPPOL standards in January 2016.”

In addition, the Department of Health will implement the following actions, by early 2016:

Set up a centralised PEPPOL SMP, listing all NHS Trusts and suppliers capable of receiving PEPPOL messages;
Initiate a framework agreement for the provision of PEPPOL Access Point services from which NHS Trusts can select their preferred access point provider.

“We are very pleased about the significant commitment of the Department of Health towards PEPPOL. The NHS demonstration of technology is a landmark for future developments of eProcurement in Europe and beyond”, said André Hoddevik, OpenPEPPOL Secretary General. “The PEPPOL framework offers a unique combination of governance, open standards and a network model, which unlocks opportunities for innovation and competition. We look forward to future cooperation and synergies amongst governments, service providers and end users in both public and private sector within our community“.

The Department of Health will commence delivery of its responsibilities as the PEPPOL Authority for the NHS in England by April 2016 and will ensure a smooth PEPPOL roll out, aiming at enabling NHS Trusts in England to become PEPPOL compliant by 2020.

For more information, please contact:

Steve Graham, eProcurement Lead

Department of Health

Skipton House

80 London Road

London SE1 6LH

Email: steve.graham@dh.gsi.gov.uk

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/344574/NHS_eProcurement_Strategy.pdf

[2] https://joinup.ec.europa.eu/svn/peppol/Communication/PEPPOL%20DoT%20case%20study.pdf