Bulk-buying ‘no brainer’ saves hospitals £2m

Seven hospitals saved £400,000 a year by using joint purchasing power to buy rubber surgical gloves

A GROUP of NHS hospitals has saved £400,000 a year simply by agreeing to use the same brand of rubber surgical gloves.

Seven hospitals in Sheffield joined forces to buy in bulk and reduce overheads by collaborating on a price matching scheme for 11 widely used products.

The initiative achieved a total saving of £2 million, simply by choosing the same brands and negotiating lower rates, a success which highlights the huge losses the health service makes by not taking advantage of its buying power.

It comes after it emerged there were disparities in how much hospital trusts paid for everyday items. Some paid more than double for equipment such as surgical scalpels. In November, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, announced hospital trusts would be put into a league table to help them compare prices in an attempt to save £300 million in purchases.

Mr Hunt said there was a “baffling variation” in the prices hospitals paid for supplies.

Accounts showed that while a box of 100 surgical syringes cost some hospitals £12, neighbouring NHS organisations paid just £4.

Likewise the cost of a single pack of 12 bandages varied between 35p and £16.47, while a pack of 100 plasters ranged from £1.68 to £21.76. Figures showed some trusts spent more than £13 on a bedpan that can be bought for £6.74, while others paid £90 for stethoscopes which elsewhere cost £26.98.

The Sheffield hospitals had previously been using various brands and paying different prices for the same products. Working together, they found they could negotiate better deals.

Prof Des Breen, clinical lead for the South Yorkshire Integrated Care System, said: “It was just a no-brainer to keep using products we knew were the same quality as others we could buy for less purely because each department procures them individually.

“It was a lot of work but well worth it when we think of all the extra services we can use that money on for patients.”

NHS England said other hospitals were now comparing their costs. It has been estimated that the bottom five trusts could save more than £11 million if they bought supplies collectively.

Michael Macdonnell, the director of system transformation at NHS England, said: “The South Yorkshire programme demonstrates how neighbouring hospitals can team up to improve clinical quality and reduce waste, working together as integrated systems. It also shows what can be achieved when clinicians take charge.

“But perhaps most impressive is that the team has already saved £2 million which can now be reinvested into better patient care.”

The Procurement League Table follows a report on variation in the NHS by Lord Carter, which was published two years ago and challenged the NHS to save £700 million through better procurement.