Decision to approve agreement for medical devices supplied by Surgical & Medical Systems Limited
What we’re doing
We are pleased to announce the approval of a listing agreement with Surgical & Medical Systems Limited (“SMS Limited”) for the supply of sterilisation and decontamination equipment and associated consumables to Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora (“Health NZ”).
In summary this will result in:
- SMS Limited’s sterilisation and decontamination equipment and associated consumables being listed in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule from 1 August 2025 under a national agreement that all Health NZ hospitals may purchase under; and
- Health NZ hospitals being able to purchase other suppliers’ brands of sterilisation and decontamination equipment and associated consumables as the agreement is not for sole supply.
Any changes to the original proposal?
This decision was subject to a consultation letter dated 10 June 2025. The original proposal was amended to include an additional pack size variation for one medical device and brand names for various devices included in the proposal were corrected.
Who we think will be most interested
- Equipment validation service providers
- Health NZ staff including but not limited to:
- Biomedical engineers (potentially involved in the validation process/outsourced)
- Dental units
- Facilities and support services department
- General ward staff
- Infection prevention and control
- Occupational health and safety department
- Procurement and supply chain department
- Sterile services department
- Theatre staff
- Professional bodies
- New Zealand Nurses Organisation
- Sterile Services Associated NZ
- Suppliers and wholesalers
Detail about this decision
In August 2021 Pharmac released the following Request for Proposal (“RFP”):
The RFP was for non-exclusive national agreements for listing on the Pharmaceutical Schedule.
After completing the RFP evaluation process, and consulting on the provisional agreement with SMS Limited, Pharmac has decided to list approve the agreement with SMS Limited for medical devices in the sterilisation and decontamination equipment and associated consumables category. These medical devices will be listed in Part III of Section H of the Pharmaceutical Schedule under a national agreement from 1 August 2025.
Health NZ hospitals can continue to choose which medical devices they purchase, including those from other suppliers. Health NZ hospitals that purchase medical devices in this category from SMS Limited must do so under the terms and conditions, including pricing, in the agreement from 1 August 2025.
The list of products will be available on Pharmac’s website from 1 August 2025.
Our response to what you told us
We’re really grateful for the time people took to review the consultation documents. No feedback was received on this consultation.
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 660 050.