NHS Buying Catalogue / CLINICAL IT SYSTEMS DIGITAL MARKETPLACE
The NHS needed a digital marketplace to support the scanning, planning, and evaluation of clinical IT solutions. The aim was to give buyers trusted, structured, and comparative information while de-risking procurement, ensuring compliance with business requirements, and streamlining contracting, payment, and management processes.
(Service design & Design lead)
Approach
Collaborated directly with NHS England stakeholders to define priorities and business requirements.
Conducted extensive mapping activities to understand the ecosystem, including service blueprints, user journeys, and system flows.
Facilitated internal and user workshops to capture insights, validate needs, and co-create solutions.
Worked within a multi-disciplinary delivery team to transform insights into actionable designs and implementation plans.
Defined a strategic roadmap to guide phased delivery and adoption of the platform.
Ensured compliance by preparing and passing a GDS (Government Digital Service) assessment, validating alignment with UK public-sector standards.
Impact
100% of orders placed digitally.
Order completion rate grew to 60%+.
70%+ user satisfaction rate among onboarded users.
Increased transparency, efficiency, and trust in clinical IT procurement.
Successfully passed a GDS assessment, ensuring digital service compliance and sustainability.
Key activities
Stakeholder Engagement: Direct collaboration with NHS England leaders and procurement teams, delivering a requirements framework aligned with business and user priorities.
Mapping & Research: Created service blueprints, user journeys, and flows of the procurement ecosystem, providing a current vs. future state maps highlighting gaps and opportunities.
Workshops & Co-Creation: Ran sessions with internal teams and end-users to co-create solutions and validate marketplace features.
UX & Service Design: Designed platform experiences for ordering, onboarding, and managing solutions. Interactive prototypes tested with users.
Roadmap & GDS Assessment: Defined implementation roadmap and ensured readiness for roll-out. GDS-compliant platform approved for national launch.
Reflection
This project demonstrated how rigorous service design methods—journey mapping, blueprints, workshops—combined with adherence to GDS standards can transform complex procurement into a trusted, user-friendly digital service. Beyond efficiency gains, the project built a foundation of compliance, scalability, and adoption across the NHS ecosystem.