Decision to list beds and mattresses supplied by Howard Wright Limited

Hospital devices Decision

We are pleased to announce the approval of a listing agreement for the supply of medical devices to DHBs.

What we’re doing

We are pleased to announce the approval of a listing agreement with Howard Wright Limited (“Howard Wright”) for the supply of beds and mattresses.

In summary this will result in:

  • Howard Wright’s beds and mattresses being listed in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 February 2021 under a national agreement that all DHBs may purchase under (“Agreement”); and
  • DHBs being able to continue to purchase other suppliers’ brands of beds and mattresses as the Agreement is not for sole supply.

Who we think will be most interested

  • Suppliers and wholesalers
  • DHB staff
    • Clinical engineers, maintenance services and facilities staff
    • Clinical staff across all areas of hospitals
    • Clinical support staff
    • DHB procurement and supply chain
    • DHB loan store staff

Details about this decision

In coordination with PHARMAC, NZ Health Partnerships (“NZHP”) has previously released Requests for Proposals (“RFPs”) for ranges of medical devices which PHARMAC may list on the Pharmaceutical Schedule. NZHP released an RFP for beds and mattresses in December 2018 and Howard Wright and NZHP entered an agreement via this process.

In September 2020 PHARMAC released a Registration of Interest (“ROI”) as an opportunity for suppliers to have beds and mattresses considered for listing on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.

As Howard Wright had an agreement in place with NZHP for beds and mattresses, the Agreement between Howard Wright and PHARMAC was based on that agreement. As there were no material changes made to the terms and conditions that are currently in place PHARMAC decided that consultation on the provisional Agreement was not required, and PHARMAC has decided to list beds and mattresses in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 February 2021.

The list of products will be available on PHARMAC's website from 1 February 2021, in both PDF and Excel formats.

DHBs can continue to choose which beds and mattresses they purchase, including those from other suppliers. DHBs that purchase beds and mattresses from Howard Wright must do so under the terms and conditions, including pricing, in the PHARMAC agreement from 1 February 2021.

The Agreement includes terms and conditions for training and education to be provided by Howard Wright on the appropriate use of its beds and mattresses, which is to be provided at times and in formats as agreed with individual DHBs.

If you have any questions about this decision, you can email us at enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz; or call our toll free number (9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday) on 0800 66 00 50.