Background
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) provides 999 and NHS 111 services in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire and a Patient Transport Service in Hampshire and Milton Keynes.
This places the SCAS telecoms estate at the core of lifeline services provision – due diligence is vital for operational efficiency and optimising public spend.
Consequently, SCAS selected PCMG through the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) Debt Resolution Services (RM6226) framework (formerly CCS) to analyse their voice and data services billing to ensure their charges were correct.
The challenge
A key issue for SCAS was the suppliers’ invoices did not hold the required data to precisely analyse the charges, sites and associated lines and circuits.
This meant each invoice had to be scrutinised line by line. The PCMG team contacted the suppliers for itemised call charges and rental charges by site. SCAS also provided details of lines and services that had been ceased.
Once the detailed data was compared to the actual bills, the PCMG team identified several anomalies and savings opportunities for SCAS.
The solution
The PCMG forensic audit had uncovered several issues, including charges for redundant services, charges for services that should have been ceased and the Trust being charged outside their contracted circuit rental, line rental and call rates.
After the findings were presented to SCAS, a process to recover the historical charges and amend ongoing charges was agreed. The SCAS team was kept informed of the progress throughout with regular calls and updates.
The results
Even if an organisation has structured bill validation measures in place, these types of errors can remain hidden within thousands of lines of data. With PCMG’s specific telecoms expertise supporting the Trust, this exercise resulted in a significant recovery for the Trust.
The SCAS team were delighted with the service – commending PCMG’s attention to detail, regular updates and persistence with the suppliers to ensure the charges were corrected and refunded accordingly.
“PCMG have been very thorough with their review of our telephony and networking invoices. Throughout this review they have been very professional and engaged with both employees and suppliers.
They have helped us towards our ambitious savings targets this year and have delivered some large credits, as well as reducing cost on an on-going basis. I would highly recommend their services for your business.”
Lisa Steptoe, Senior Finance Manager, South Central Ambulance Service
Total recoveries
Refund
Annual savings
