£2BN EPIDEMIC OF HOSPITAL WASTE

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THE NHS is wasting more than £2billion a year, shocking figures reveal.

And some former ministers believe the figure could be as high as £5bn. At a time when patients are suffering because of costcutting, hospitals are paying through the nose for everyday items such as paper, loo rolls and detergent wipes. One ordered a blind for £855 before a matron went to a DIY store and bought one for £22.95. Other hospitals waste money in wrong payments to staff and by failing to maintain equipment. One hospital used the Royal Mail to send documents to colleagues in the same building rather than using free internal mail. £2bn could pay for the building of five hospitals, 90,000 nurses or 36,000 GPs. Former Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter slammed NHS managers. Dr Poulter said: “It is important the NHS drives a hard bargain.” The NHS Procurement Atlas of Variation shows the differences in prices paid across the coun- try. East Kent Hospitals wrote off £1.5m because of a problem with a “cleanroom” in 2014-15 and a fridge used to store medicines at University Hospitals Birmingham packed in with £239,697 worth of drugs having to be ditched.

NHS Improvement, the quango for financial matters, claim steps are being taken to cut waste, saying: “Initiatives have generated £50m in efficiencies.”