From 1 May 2025, and where safe to do, we will be limiting non patient facing external room hire, hospitality and venue hire for events.
This change in process is part of a series of financial controls that will be implemented to help manage non-pay expenditure more effectively.
The Procurement Department will be introducing ‘Technical Approval’ for requisitions raised through SBS Oracle for such requirements. These requisitions will require additional online authorisation prior to budgetary approval and will be flagged via the product/service category used.
When raising a requisition, the product/service category is automatically generated when:
- Selecting the correct product within Edge for Health, or
- Entering the correct description under ‘Category’ when adding to your shopping cart.
It is important that you make sure that this category is correct as it:
- Enables Technical Approval to be effective
- Generates the correct financial subjective code
- Enables effective product spend benchmarking at both a regional and a national level.
Important!
Please note that the Trust operates a Purchase Order Compliance policy to ensure effective financial governance. Purchase orders must be raised prior to committing any Trust expenditure. Verbal orders are not to be issued to suppliers, and all official contractual documentation must be appraised by the Procurement Department prior to signature.
If you try to book an external venue or room hire for non patient facing events, training or meetings, when you raise a requisition, please include as much information as possible. You will then be contacted for additional information to help clarify if your booking can be approved or signposted to alternative options.
Questions and support
If you have any queries about this, please contact Paul Harrison, Head of Procurement: paul
For advice on suitable venues for non patient facing events, training or meeting spaces, and support for planning your event, please contact Christy Ryder, Events Manager: events@merseycare.nhs.uk