The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency was an executive agency of the Department of Health (DH) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It was the purchasing arm of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and had main offices in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

and

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. The Agency was self-funding in that it did not charge either suppliers or customers. None of the Agency's contracts were mandatory, although until mid-2006 there was an increasing tendency to insist on their use; especially for NHS trusts who were in sufficient financial distress to have turn-around teams installed by the DH. The Agency closed in April 2010 with its functions being split between the DH and other government agencies, including NHS Supply chain.

References

{{Authority control Defunct executive agencies of the United Kingdom government Defunct organisations based in England Government procurement in the United Kingdom Organisations based in Cheshire Government agencies disestablished in 2010