How to sell to the NHS

Suppliers approach the NHS as though it were a single organisation with a single front door. It is closer to a federation of several hundred buyers operating at four different levels, and the level determines everything about how you sell.

The four buying layers

National. NHS England and the Crown Commercial Service run national framework agreements. High value, long procurement cycles, and generally suited to established suppliers with scale.

NHS Supply Chain. Aggregates demand for consumables, devices and equipment across trusts, organised into category towers. For most product suppliers this is the principal route to market — trusts order from the catalogue rather than buying direct.

Integrated care boards. ICBs commission health services across a geography, covering community, mental health and primary care services. Service providers sell here, not products.

Trusts. Individual acute, community, ambulance and mental health trusts buy locally — estates and facilities, local services, some equipment. This is where a smaller supplier can realistically start.

What you will need before anyone can buy from you

• Medical devices — UKCA or CE marking as applicable, MHRA registration where required, ISO 13485.
• Anything touching patient data — completion of the Data Security and Protection Toolkit, plus Cyber Essentials Plus and usually ISO 27001.
• Regulated clinical services — CQC registration.
• Staff on site — enhanced DBS, occupational health clearance, and often trust-specific induction.
• Estates and facilities — the usual SSIP accreditation, plus HTM compliance for specialist building services such as ventilation and medical gas.
• Everyone — evidence against the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap, which now requires a carbon reduction plan for contracts above defined values.

The Net Zero requirement catches suppliers out. For contracts above £5m a year the NHS requires a published carbon reduction plan, and the thresholds tighten over time. Have one before you bid.

Realistic routes in

Start with a single trust. Local estates, facilities, catering and non-clinical services are tendered by trusts directly and appear on Contracts Finder. Winning one trust gives you the NHS reference that every later conversation requires.

Target dynamic purchasing systems. Widely used for temporary staffing, patient transport, community services and some clinical support. They accept new suppliers throughout their life.

Go through NHS Supply Chain for products. Understand which category tower covers your product and when it is next tendered. This is a longer game with a bigger prize.

Subcontract first. Many suppliers enter as a subcontractor to an incumbent, build the delivery record and the relationships, then bid the contract directly at re-procurement.

What NHS buyers actually weight

Clinical safety and quality, above everything. Any perceived risk to patient safety ends a bid regardless of price.

Continuity of supply. Post-pandemic, resilience questions are serious: stock holding, alternative manufacturing sites, lead times under disruption, and how you would prioritise NHS demand in a shortage.

Total cost, not unit price. Especially for devices and equipment, where consumables, servicing, training and disposal are evaluated over the asset life.

Net zero and social value. Both are now standard scored criteria, not optional extras.

Practical advice

1. Learn the language. ICB, ICS, HTM, DSPT, category tower. Getting these wrong in a bid signals you have not worked in the sector.
2. Find the right contact. Trusts have procurement teams, but clinical and estates leads specify what is bought. Both conversations matter.
3. Be patient about cycles. NHS procurement is slow and its timetables slip. Plan on a year from first contact to first order.
4. Watch contract award notices. They tell you who holds what, at what value, and when it expires — which is the basis of a serious NHS pipeline.