Ethical Healthcare and legal firm, DLA Piper, have partnered to provide a Procurement Advisory Service for NHS trusts. The partnership was established during a successful EPR project at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), and they have since been commissioned by Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust (LUHFT), now part of University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, to jointly deliver EPR procurement advice.  

Acute, mental health, or community trusts that are looking to procure new technologies can access the partners’ legal, technical, and commercial expertise, with a seamless service that offers:  

  • Business Case development & Requirements Definition  
  • Procurement Strategy & Compliance  
  • Procurement support including Pre Market engagement  
  • Contract negotiations including collaboration agreements, heads of terms and MOUs  
  • Implementation & Compliance Checks  
  • Post project reviews  
  • Post-Implementation Monitoring & Review   

The partnership developed off the back of an EPR project at RNOH, that saw Ethical and DLA Piper work together to establish a partnership between RNOH, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and EPR provider Epic.

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is the first trust to commission the partnership to support their EPR procurement. This includes a review of procurement and contract documentation, including the evaluation/scoring approach, and sections regarding core compliance, quality, social value as well as the development of a collaboration agreement.   

Mark Vipan, Partner, DLA Piper, said:  

“Working together means that we can offer a smooth ‘one-stop-shop’ advisory service for NHS organisations. For trusts, we know that EPR procurement is a huge undertaking, so being able to bring both our expertise to the table takes away some of the pressure.”  


Judy Smith, COO, Ethical Healthcare Consulting said:  

“Our work at RNOH brought us together with DLA Piper and I was impressed with their knowledge and approach. This partnership allows us to offer a procurement advisory service with a difference – one point of contact to access a wide range of legal, technical, and commercial expertise.   

“It is great when NHS bodies bring us in at the start, so we can help them to write their business case and get their procurement strategy in order, while preparing them for any barriers or opportunities they are likely to come across.”  

Get in Touch

Find out how we can support you with your procurement services by contacting us at info@ethicalhealthcare.org.uk