Finance agreement provides medical practice with access to essential ophthalmic diagnostic equipment

SAF Solutions successfully supported the procurement of £118,000 worth of industry-leading ophthalmic diagnostic equipment despite the challenge of supply chain issues

SAF worked in close partnership with ZEISS Group to develop a bespoke, branded finance solution to give Ireland Wood and Horsforth Medical Practice access to the latest in ophthalmic diagnostic technology.

Client Brief:

Ireland Wood and Horsforth Medical Practice is a large regional medical centre and surgery servicing more than 25,000 patients under the NHS Leeds CCG.

Thanks to our long-term partnership with ZEISS Group, we have already supported the practice in the procurement of ophthalmic diagnostic equipment in the past, with flexible finance being a welcome alternative to outright capital purchase for the end-user.

The practice was coming to the end of an existing lease agreement for ZEISS equipment and was seeking to retain elements of their existing equipment package, while upgrading other elements to better serve the needs of their patients.

The practice identified it would be beneficial to evolve the existing agreement to incorporate maintenance contracts and software updates into the monthly hire rate as additional ‘soft cost’ items. This gives the practice the ability to focus on their patients and staff eliminating the worry of trying to outsource the maintenance themselves.

SAF was able to support Ireland Wood and Horsforth Medical Practice with the design of a bespoke new finance package to better-suit the new needs of the practice and give them access to much-needed ophthalmic equipment.

SAF’s Solution:

SAF has worked in partnership with ZEISS Group for more than ten years, supporting their sales team and customers through the establishment of the ZEISS Rental branded finance solution.

Thanks to the existing supplier relationship and branded finance agreement, SAF was able to quickly and efficiently design a bespoke new package for Ireland Wood and Horsforth Medical Practice through the ZEISS rental scheme. SAF representatives acted as the key point of contact for the surgery and used our expertise to ensure that their team could benefit from new equipment as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible.

As the client wanted a part retention and part upgrade of their existing lease agreement, there were specific considerations in terms of costs and logistics – splitting the existing agreement in a way to benefit both the practice and ZEISS Group.

The key to any finance solution is the full understanding of the customer’s requirements, clear communication from all parties involved and a consideration of the most efficient way to conclude a transaction, both for the benefit of the supplier and the end-user.

Acting as an extension of the ZEISS team, SAF designed and developed a bespoke finance solution that catered to the surgery’s requirements, allowing them to access essential ophthalmic equipment without the need for upfront capital.

Outcome:

Due to global supply chain issues, it wasn’t possible to facilitate the equipment upgrade to coincide with the time of the lease expiry. To combat this, SAF supported Ireland Wood and Horsforth Medical Practice by facilitating a short-term extension to the existing lease agreement to ensure there was no equipment downtime, while structuring a new lease agreement to begin once the updated equipment was available.

The new five-year finance lease agreement was designed specifically to suit the surgery’s needs, incorporating the upgraded Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), new retinal camera, maintenance agreement and software upgrades.

The finance package provided a cost-effective solution for the practice to invest in its ophthalmic diagnostic services, without the need for upfront capital.

SAF worked closely with both Ireland Wood and Horsforth Medical Practice and ZEISS Group to make the procurement process as simple as possible.

One of the key aims of SAF’s branded finance initiative is to make the process cost and time-effective for suppliers and end users alike, while maintaining a high level of customer service.

This project not only highlights the quality of the ZEISS Group equipment packages, but also how ZEISS rental can be instrumental in allowing end-users to procure essential hospital equipment.

Phil Dring, Head of Sales at SAF, said of the project: “We were delighted to support Ireland Wood & Horsforth Medical Practice for a second time as it shows the value they see in the Zeiss Rental finance solution.

“The surgery’s newly upgraded equipment will be pivotal in helping them to tackle the ophthalmic backlog caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and we’re so proud to play even a small part in this. The use of our branded finance package means the surgery can start work on the backlog as quickly as possible, without needing a large sum of upfront capital to pay for the new equipment outright.

“Thanks to our long-standing partnership with ZEISS Group, our team were able to quickly and efficiently design a bespoke package to suit the needs of supplier and end-user alike.”