Getting less for more

Health service managers are wasting more than £1bn a year by paying drastically different amounts on the same supplies, according to the head of a government-backed efficiency drive. John Neilson, the managing director of NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) , which is part-owned by the government, said that overspending was widespread and could be found across NHS trusts, family doctors and foundation hospitals. Even within the same trust, managers could be paying notably different sums for the same items such as stationary or surgical instruments, he told The Times . In one example, reported by the Guardian's healthcare network , eight NHS trusts were routinely paying 19 different prices for the same pacemaker, which could waste up to £750 in each transaction. "It's scary. We actually have multiple prices being paid for the same item in the same trust, in the same month," Neilson said. He added: "They haven't got their purchasing under control at all." SBS was formed in 2005 to deliver better value in the NHS's back office functions and has tracked the finances of a third of NHS trusts, a total of around £31bn of spending each year. Around £12bn is spent on health service equipment each year with up to 12% of NHS purchasing budgets wasted on overpaying for items which had been previously purchased for less, Neilson said, "taking us into the low billions". "For the first time we can provide detail down to the individual item. So we can say 'here's one syringe, and here's another syringe, and you're paying a certain amount for this one and less for that one'," he added. While Neilson also accused health service managers of spending a "bewildering" amount of equipment an NHS spokesman said the NHS were working on better efficiency. "We are working to use purchasing power to get the best possible deal," he said." "NHS trusts are seeking substantial procurement savings in their planned efficiency savings of up to £20bn over the next four years."