NHS / Steria joint venture chief touts India offshoring
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Head of public / private partnership NHS Shared Business Services says health service could save millions by outsourcing more to India
The managing director of a joint venture between the NHS and IT outsourcing provider Steria has called for greater use of offshore resources by the UK’s health service.
John Neilson, MD of NHS Shared Business Services, told the Times newspaper that £1 billion is wasted every year through uncoordinated procurement processes.
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“It’s scary. We actually have multiple prices being paid for the same item in the same [NHS] trust, in the same month,” Neilson said.
Neilson argued that the NHS could reduce costs by outsourcing clerical and call-centre jobs to India.
Opponents of offshore outsourcing by the health service argue that there are information security risks associated with sending health records offshore, and that patients in need of medical care might struggle with speaking to an Indian call-centre operator.
NHS SBS, which was founded in 2002, already uses offshore support recources in Pune and Noida, India. It provides a number of back office services, including e-procurement, to over 100 NHS trusts.
In this time of austerity, where the NHS faces it toughest challenge yet in meeting stringent cost-cutting without impacting front-line service delivery, off-shore outsourcing of clerical and call-centre functions may seem like the best option for the balance sheet, but just how appropriate is it for an organisation that has so many intricate complexities in terms of its operational practices.
Take payroll for example. The NHS has one of the most complex payroll systems in the world today – paying over 1.4 million people via weekly and monthly payroll runs, across a number of organisations within it. When it comes to paying NHS employees, this is one multifaceted service that cannot afford break down. The skills and knowledge required to operate within the payroll deadlines required, at different times, for differing amounts, for differing hours and individual employees, requires a copious amount of in-depth and cohesive knowledge not only nationally for the whole NHS, but also at a local level for each organisation within it.
Experience counts for everything. It provides the catalyst for a trusted, streamlined, cyclical and well-oiled process that continues to ensure over 1.4 million people get paid correctly. It is also key for the British economy, that skilled and specialist workers in this – and indeed other – proficient sectors keep their jobs on home soil rather than loose them to a cost-favoured environment that comes with the risk of potentially lower service levels as a result of lack of experience.
It is widely believed that off-shore outsourcing comes with the benefit of vast cost-savings – but we must stand back and question the appropriateness of this in some areas. Potential savings of up to 50% can be achieved by running payroll through an on-shore, trusted supplier – savings not to be sniffed at in terms of NHS savings and UK job creation combined.
Outsourcing a service of this scale may be a quick-fix, cost-saving hit, but it is only through local knowledge of the NHS and its complex structure that a process like this can truly be run successfully.
UK Workforce Solutions Director
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