Asteral wins contract to manage hospital's equipment portfolio
Supplier will manage all equipment and provide procurement guidance
Medical equipment manufacturer, Asteral, has been appointed by The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to manage and maintain its equipment portfolio and provide guidance on future capital purchases.
The three-year contract, which has an option to extend for a further two years, covers the maintenance of more than 4,500 assets throughout the hospital, including radiology, EBME and theatre equipment. Asteral will also join the medical equipment panel, leveraging its strategic expertise and market knowledge to advise the trust on future equipment specification, selection and procurement.
Asteral’s maintenance service includes a dedicated response desk that provides Hillingdon’s clinical staff with a single point of contact for all equipment issues. Managing multiple manufacturer maintenance contracts, the contract will ensure equipment remains operational and available at all times. In addition, seven of the existing trust engineers have been transferred to Asteral under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations.
As part of the service, Asteral will also deliver a library function to monitor all items of equipment across the organisation, as well as take over responsibility for identifying staff training requirements, ensuring quality standards are met and full compliance with Care Quality Commission guidelines.
We’re really pleased to be working as part of the team, sharing our knowledge and expertise that, coupled with our unique range of services, will really help to drive efficiencies across the equipment portfolio, now and in the future
John Dangerfield, the trust’s contracts manager, said: “Asteral came in with a very competitive bid that guarantees us a high level of equipment uptime and we are pleased to welcome them on board. The team’s expertise and advice will help us to deliver efficiency savings, while enabling us to continue delivering an excellent service.”
Stephen Hodgson, director at Asteral, added: “Trusts today need to ensure they are getting value for money, while delivering the best possible clinical service. We’ve worked closely with the trust to deliver a bespoke solution that meets their specific needs. We’re really pleased to be working as part of the team, sharing our knowledge and expertise that, coupled with our unique range of services, will really help to drive efficiencies across the equipment portfolio, now and in the future.”
