A body, which examines waste within the NHS, says that over £1bn of taxpayers’ money is wasted within the health service in a typical year.
NHS Shared Business Services says that great amounts are wasted every year simply through managers of trusts paying vastly different sums on goods ranging from stationary through to surgical instruments. It suggests that savings can be made throughout the health service with one key proposal being to outsource more administration overseas to India.
John Neilson, managing director of NHS Shared Business Services, said that items such as computers were being purchased at “needlessly high prices”, wasting about 12% of the NHS’s purchasing budget. He said that those paying inflated prices ranged from family GPs to elite foundation trusts and that millions of pounds every year could be saved by trusts simply striving for better value for money.
However, the organisation’s call for administration to move to India has been criticised by some patient groups who claim it will affect patients by increasing the number of misdiagnoses and could lead to patient records being lost. The health service currently spends approximately £13bn a year on purchasing equipment.
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