Some 165 NHS “acute” hospitals spend £4.6 billion on consumables every year. NHS Trusts are buying different versions of the same thing and failing to get the best price. And NAO says that includes missing the best deals on tea and coffee supplies, not just smiley sticky plasters for kids.
The NAO says:
“Some trusts are not getting value for money because they are buying many different types of the same product. For example, trusts bought 21 different types of A4 paper [and] 652 types of medical gloves.” Some of the money is also wasted on convoluted levels of administrative ordering costs.
We love you NHS, but sometimes you make us grrr. If you want to know how to be a canny shopper, just ask someone from an SME. First, figure out what you want. Then, work how much of it you've been using. Next, go and look for the best price online. Once you've found a retailer, see if they offer discounts based on the amount bought; remember, if you can stock up in advance, you should save money in the long run. You need to watch out for price promotions all the time – like those offered by Euroffice of course!
Perhaps most important of all, these trusts should be sharing information with one another, says NAO. If someone in hospital X finds that a particular type of A4 paper is really good, send an email round to other trusts. If you find a good retailer with over-the-top or rock bottom prices for toilet paper – ahem – then tell people about them. If you can sort out what basics work for everyone you'll be able to save a lot of money.
By the way, if the trusts spent that £500 million saving on quality A4 paper from Euroffice, they'd be able to get around 90 billion sheets of paper. All with free delivery!
Martian maths on my wooden abacus say that would lay an A4 paper trail 17,357,954.54545454545454545454545 million miles long; and the moon is only 238,857 miles from earth! .
The procurement of consumables by NHS acute and Foundation trusts
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/1011/nhs_procurement.aspx
