More savings available from supplies cost tool

A price comparison tool has helped trusts in England save £288m in 2017/18 on the most commonly bought supplies but even greater savings can be achieved, NHS Improvement said.

The oversight body said trusts used the comparison tool to get the best prices on high-volume items such as syringes, disposable gloves, toilet roll and shoe covers.

Some trusts had aggregated orders to make savings by buying in bulk. For example, 227 trusts joined up to buy couch rolls from a single supplier – saving £824,000 in total – while 184 grouped their toilet roll order to save £106,000.

NHS Improvement said the price comparison tool allowed trusts to see the most expensive and cheapest prices for more than a million products. It also set a benchmark for each product. But it highlighted scope for greater savings. It said trusts could save £3.7m a year if they all paid the minimum price for radiology syringes – prices vary between £324 and £553 per pack of 50.

Health minister Stephen Barclay said: ‘As part of putting an extra £20bn a year into the NHS, it’s more important than ever that we ensure money is effectively spent and harness new technology to identify where high prices are being paid and challenge this.

‘Just as retail customers use price comparison sites, we’re using similar principles in the NHS to identify where trusts are paying more than others and using comparative data to drive down procurement costs.’