Hospital bosses are wasting millions with some paying double the amount for medical equipment as others, damning report finds

Wasteful hospital bosses are failing to maximise their spending power with some paying twice as much for medical equipment as others, a damning report reveals.

The spending watchdog said the health service would save taxpayers’ money if it made more use of a national purchasing scheme that could negotiate bulk discounts.

The NHS in England spends around £8billion a year on items such as paper, gloves, prosthetic hips and other equipment. But the National Audit Office found more than a third of this money is being spent by NHS organisations independently, rather than through a centralised system.

Its investigators identified that some hospitals paid £15 for each bone saw blade they bought in 2022/23, while others forked out £33 – 120 per cent more. A portable touchscreen bladder scanner cost some hospitals £6,591 while others paid £12,760.

And some hospitals paid £490 for a replacement hip ‘stem part’ that others were sourcing for just £258.

The report, named ‘NHS Supply Chain and efficiencies in procurement’, warns trusts are paying a ‘wide range of prices for the same product’ and the NHS is ‘not making the most of its spending power to save money’.

The NHS Supply Chain sources, buys and supplies medical equipment and consumables to hospital trusts. It was established as a central procurement body in 2017 following a 2016 report which found that some hospitals were paying twice as much as others for some medical supplies.

However, it is not mandatory for trusts to use the system and the NHS spends around £3.4billion each year purchasing from other sources.

Health bosses say products are not always cheaper from the NHS Supply Chain and deliveries often arrive late. The report highlights the lowest price paid for a breathing valve and mouthpiece in 2022/23 was £155, but those who bought the items through the central system paid £185.

The NHS said it is ‘determined to use our huge collective purchasing power to provide best value for money’, adding: ‘We have rolled out the use of high-quality data in commercial practice across the service, so that the NHS can analyse spend, track savings, and compare prices.’