Addressing human rights in the healthcare supply chain
How Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust has been working with key suppliers, to understand their impacts and establish clear operating standards.
Shortlisted in the 2degrees Champions Awards 2015
The background
There is a growing body of evidence that the basic employment and human rights of people working within parts of the healthcare supply chain are being denied.
Poor working conditions and child labour have been documented in the manufacture of several medical products sourced by NHS organisations. Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has taken the lead within the UK healthcare sector to ensure that areas of concern within the supply chain are understood and addressed in a sustainable manner – one that ensures the livelihoods of those within the supply chain are protected, and the standards of working conditions are raised.
The Trust, a long-standing leader within the field of sustainability, has taken on this issue to raise awareness of the issues, and improve conditions across the entire supply chain. The Trust's deeply rooted passion for doing the right thing to improve healthcare and business outcomes is reflected clearly in this agenda.
What did we do
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust has been working with the British Medical Association (BMA) to improve ethical standards across its c. £600m supply chain.
The Trust embarked on a programme of activities, working with key suppliers, to understand their impacts and establish clear operating standards. This model may be used at either national or international level.
Using the Ethical Trade Initiative’s Base Code as a foundation, the Trust developed a supplier Code of Conduct, which incorporates ethical and environmental standards. This code establishes more accountability between suppliers and the Trust and its use is encouraged by all NHS Trusts and public sector organisations.
A dedicated member of staff has been appointed by the Trust to manage this process and work directly with suppliers to improve working conditions further down the supply chain. The approach is fully supported by the Trust’s Sustainability Governance Committee, chaired by Sir Hugh Taylor, Trust Chairman, and comprised of the Medical Director, Chief Procurement Officer, as well as other key Trust leaders.
The result
The Shelford Group of Trusts, representing the 10 largest teaching hospitals from across the UK, including Guy's and St Thomas', and over 10% of the UK healthcare buying power, has agreed to implement the Code of Conduct on joint tenders, as well as work with their specific suppliers to improve standards in the supply chain. Addionally, several medical instrument suppliers have engaged with the Trust and the British Medical Association (BMA) with the intention of improving transparency, safety and human rights within the supply chain.
The Trust has also published the Code of Conduct on the Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) website encouraging other organisations to adopt the code and join the campaign to improve standards.
The personal pitch
Guy's and St Thomas', on the largest and most influential teaching hospitals in the UK, is the first healthcare institution to take on the challenge of materially addressing conditions within the supply chain of medical instruments. It has invested in a pioneering approach to collaborative working with suppliers because it is unquestionably wrong that the medical instruments used to improve health in the UK may cause harm to vulnerable members of the supply chain elsewhere in the world.
Through its influential position in the UK market, and its historical approach to collaborative working, the Trust has been able to positively impact the transparency of the supply chain, and draw attention to this fundamental issue of right and wrong.
Suppliers, contractors and solutions providers used
The issue was first brought to light by consultant Ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon Mahmood Bhutta following at trip to Pakistan where he witnessed the conditions first hand. In 2007, he set up the Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group at the British Medical Association (BMA), which was set up to investigate, promote and facilitate fair and ethical trade in the production and supply of commodities to healthcare.
Dr Bhutta also presented to the Shelford Group of trusts to highlight the importance of this issue, and encourage them to sign up to the code of conduct for ethical and environmental procurement, which the group ratified.
The BMA group, along with the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) and the student group Medsin, members of which originally brought this issue to the attention of Guy's and St Thomas’, have driven an awareness raising campaign to drive change in global healthcare.