19.11.12
Price of supplies in NHS varies significantly
Wide variation in procurement is still evident within the NHS, new research demonstrates. An assessment by Ernst & Young found that trusts were paying significantly different prices for the same products.
For 10 NHS hospital trusts, prices for the same box of medical forceps ranged from £13-23. A box of blankets ranged from £47-120, and other variations were found for products such as syringe pumps and knee implants.
Ernst & Young’s Joe Stringer said: “With the NHS facing sustained pressure to contain rising costs and demand within a flat budget, transparency must be introduced across the board.
“The consequences of inaction in the back office will only be felt more acutely in front-line care.”
Health minister Lord Howe told the BBC: “We are working on introducing a new barcoding system that will increase transparency, save money and make care safer. The new system will take time, but ultimately it will result in the kind of price comparison website that already exists in other sectors, like supermarkets, and will revolutionise the tracking, safety and use of clinical products bought by the NHS.”
Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said: “The Government is encouraging hospitals to think and act like independent businesses. As a result, they're losing the potential for the NHS to use its collective buying power. Market-based health systems cost more not less and this is one of the reasons why.”
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