Paul qualified with a degree in Aeronautics & Fluid Mechanics (a long time ago) and served for 6 years in the RAF before joining the commercial procurement world in a number of sectors which led to his NHS appointment in 2002. He has extensive private sector experience across all types of procurement as well as within the majority of areas across the NHS. His role within National Procurement in Scotland heads up the category teams that contract on behalf of Scotland and covers pharmaceuticals and medical devices, non medical and estates / facilities. Approximately £1.4Bn currently goes through these national arrangements covering more than 60% of the Scottish non-pay spend within the health service. His team of 55 procurement professionals continue to developed and expand various types of sourcing methodologies across a variety of sectors. Detailed knowledge on the legislative process and rules are not really sufficient if you don’t understand your customers, the organisation, the market and the suppliers! And above all, it’s about managing relationships to get a solution that works for everyone.