From volume to value: how VBP is shaping outcomes-focused healthcare and changing how the NHS thinks about procurement

One of the Engines Driving the NHS Towards a Value Mindset 

In the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, the word outcomes appears 99 times and value appears 76 times.¹ That is not coincidence, it’s a signal. The direction from the Department of Health and Social Care is clear, the NHS must shift from a volume mindset, where the focus was on doing more for less, towards a value mindset, where the priority is long-term outcomes for patients, NHS staff, and the wider health and care system.^1,2 

Crucially, structural and operational levers to make this transition possible are already being built. Multi-year budgets from 2026/27, finance flow evolutions, pathway-based commissioning, and Value-Based Procurement (VBP) are not isolated initiatives, they are the architecture being built to embed a value culture across the NHS.¹ The 10-Year Health Plan is explicit: these levers are intended to shift investment towards outcomes rather than activity alone, and to clear the path for ideas that deliver both better care and better value.^1,2 Policy is not just pointing in one direction, it’s actively dismantling the barriers that have historically held progress back. 

Innovation Isn’t Just About What We Buy, It’s About How We Procure

Healthcare innovation tends to focus on the what; new technologies, devices, and treatments. Rarely does the conversation turn to the how. Yet the way the NHS procures is itself one of the most powerful levers for change.

Every purchasing decision shapes clinical pathways, determines which technologies reach patients, and influences whether the system captures the full value of its investment. The NHS spends around £10 billion per year on MedTech, yet for too long, those purchasing decisions have been driven primarily by cost rather than effectiveness.²

That approach has come at a price: innovations that deliver better outcomes but carry higher upfront costs have struggled to gain traction. As Health Minister Zubir Ahmed stated: “we must invest to save, and by purchasing the most effective technology, not just the cheapest, we’ll improve patient care, cut waiting times and drive long-term cost savings - as we build an NHS fit for the future.”² This principle sits at the heart of VBP, which asks not simply what does something cost to buy, but what value it delivers over the entire patient pathway.² It is one of the engines helping shift the NHS from a system that measures what it does, to one that measures what it achieves.