‘NHS hospitals wasting millions every year’
The latest review of the UK National Health Service (NHS) spending has revealed an excessive amount of waste, including too many staff holidays, soluble tablets and the purchase of latex gloves.
Chair of the NHS Cooperation and Competition Panel, Patrick Carter, examined the practices of 22 leading hospitals in the country after being commissioned for a report by the Department of Health. The results, which are due to be published this week, found the NHS spends billions on “inefficient processes” and the damage could be reversed if management of staff rotas and shifts are corrected.
The report found hundreds of thousands of pounds could be saved by reconsidering spending on latex gloves, aprons and medicines. It also identifies latex gloves cost £5.44 a box in one hospital while other hospitals pay only £2.39.
Carter also found that certain surgeries such as hip operations cost the NHS an extra £17 million each year by using expensive prostheses which do not last as long as their cheaper alternatives.
Carter said: “I’ve been surprised by the variation in performance in getting the very best care for patients and delivering value for money within the NHS. It’s clearly the case that some of our hospitals are the envy of the world in terms of both quality and performance – so what we must do now is resolve to bring all providers up to the standard of the best.”
Carter suggests that solutions for this crisis could be found in the better use of existing staff and medicines as well as buying products with better quality.
Meantime, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said: “Hospitals should focus their resources on patient care by ensuring that they aren’t paying over the odds for basic items. The NHS has huge purchasing power as the world’s single biggest buyer of healthcare products, so we should be driving for the best-value deals every time.”
SU/GHN
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