22.07.14
Hospitals to be ranked on procurement spending
NHS hospitals will be put into league tables to assess how they are spending their budgets, by comparing prices and identifying where costs can be driven down.
The new online NHS Procurement Atlas of Variation has been developed as there “are wide regional differences” in the prices paid for such things as surgical gloves, anti-embolism stockings, slings and medical wipes.
According to health officials, in some cases, there has been a “scandalous waste of money” spent on procuring common medical items.
Earlier this year, in the government’s procurement transparency document, the Department of Health said it was evaluating the use of the NHS Atlas of Variation as the preferred mechanism for publishing variation in procurement performance across the NHS.
It stated: “The aim of publishing data is to enable NHS providers to focus on the key areas of procurement performance that need to be addressed at the local level.”
The first NHS Atlas of Variation was published in November 2010 and was welcomed by the NHS and other stakeholders, with topics selected by clinicians as being important to their speciality. In December 2011 a second and expanded version of the Atlas, consisting of 71 maps, was published.
In the new procurement Atlas, the data compares spending by 244 NHS trusts on 100 of the most common products. It has also shown that some trusts are spending £30 on a box of 100 needles when others are spending just £4 for the same product.
Officials have stated that many hospitals could save more than £600,000 every year by getting the same deals as others on syringes, bandages and paper.
Health minister Dr Dan Poulter said: “The NHS budget has been increased but the reality of an ageing population, rising patient demand and more expensive treatments means our NHS needs to spend money wisely in order to direct every penny into frontline patient care.
“We are delivering on our promise to improve the way our NHS buys goods, equipment and services to make sure taxpayers’ money is spent efficiently and more money is available to look after patients.
“Our new league tables will make the NHS a more open and better place in which to do business, for small and medium sized businesses. Improving procurement practices is about making sure that money is going where it needs to, on patients and not down the drain.”
But Simon Walsh, head of procurement and e-commerce at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS FT, who chairs the Health Care Supply Association (HCSA), said: "The HCSA did not receive advance notification of the Atlas publication, unlike all previous national initiatives and publications.
"The 'Atlas' illustrates the range of brand/product/price available from NHS Supply Chain along with the local decision making process that exists, as opposed to the accusation that trusts are acting profligately. It identifies the need for NHS Supply Chain to improve pricing and better manage category choice, along with the challenge to trusts to support a more managed approach to core common lines.
"Sadly, the above will be lost in the discussion, as an approach has been taken that gains short term headlines but not long term gain. I am immensely disappointed on behalf of all NHS Procurement staff, especially those who will read headlines suggesting they will be 'shamed' into action. The vital work we are all doing to effect real improvement in NHS procurement will continue both at individual trust level and in partnership with the Department of Health."
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