Cutting the cost of NHS procurement

With the NHS spending over 20 billion sterling pounds annually on goods and services--accounting, typically, for around 30 per cent of each hospital's operating costs--but, in the view of Health Minister, Dr Dan Poulter MP, still 'failing to harness its enormous purchasing power', the Minister recently unveiled a new Procurement Development Programme for the service, (HEJ - September 2013) the goal being to help NHS Trusts 'find' over 1.5 billion sterling pounds of 'procurement efficiencies' over the next three years. HEJ reports.