Maximising the benefits of competing non-core support services.

Sarah Meads is General Manager of Serco Health Services. In an earlier article "Transforming Support Services Through Competition", published in the September/October 1992 issue, she described the use of external competition to create incentives to transform support service functions. In this article she describes how competing single service contracts or simply combining services that appear functionally related, for example, cleaning and orderly services, is no longer enough if health service providers are serious about maximising the benefits of competition. This is because a superior result may be achieved through combining several support services under one single contract, or facilities management contracting, selected on the basis of delivering client outcomes. The ability to maximise the benefits relies on providers adopting a change in attitude and a relentless focus on client needs which is not constrained by existing organisational structure.