Debated in Parliament on 15 Aug 2016.
Ms K Thanaletchimi asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the Ministry exercises oversight of the tender evaluation method in the procurement of manpower services or outsourced services in the restructured hospitals and institutions; (b) whether these contracts comply with the Price-Quality Method (PQM) of evaluation with 70% allotted to quality and 30% allotted to price; and (c) what is the minimum duration and percentage of such contracts that conform to PQM out of the total awarded tenders in the last three years.
The procurement policies in our public healthcare institutions are guided by the same principles as those in the Singapore Public Service – transparency of process, open and fair competition, so as to secure best value for money. Our institutions also take reference from national advisories, such as the Tripartite Advisory on Best Sourcing Practices. As long as these principles and advisories are observed, our institutions have the flexibility to design their procurement and tender evaluation processes.
Therefore, while all our public healthcare institutions use the Price-Quality Method (PQM) to evaluate tender proposals, the emphasis on quality and price will differ depending on the nature, type and complexity of services being procured. For example, the weightage of quality used in the evaluation for manpower and outsourced services procurement is typically 60% to 80%. Where there is less need for differentiation in the quality of products and services being contracted, the price component may be weighted higher.
Similarly, the duration of the contracts also varies. For multi-year contracts, some institutions make provisions for annual salary increment and performance bonus for manpower deployed. Outsourced workers in our public healthcare institutions, such as cleaners, housekeepers, porters and security guards, are important partners in delivering good healthcare service. We recognise and value their contributions and will continue to bear this in mind in the way we tender for their services.
PAPERCUTS