Open AccessProcurement and Commissioning during COVID-19: reflections and (early) lessons
Author(s) -
Albert Sanchez-Graells
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
northern ireland legal quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2514-4936
pISSN - 0029-3105
DOI - 10.53386/nilq.v71i3.882
Subject(s) - procurement , project commissioning , context (archaeology) , salient , pandemic , public relations , business , political science , covid-19 , publishing , law , medicine , marketing , geography , disease , archaeology , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
This commentary reflects on some common themes that are starting to emerge in the early analysis of the healthcare procurement and commissioning response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it largely results from the observation of the situation in the English NHS, the most salient issues are common to procurement in other EU healthcare systems, as well as more broadly across areas of the public sector that have strongly relied on the extremely urgent procurement exception in the aftermath of the first wave of the pandemic. Given the disfunction and abuse of ‘unregulated procurement’ in the context of COVID-19, the commentary reflects on the longer term need for suitable procurement rules to face impending challenges, such as Brexit and, more importantly, climate change.