NHS procurement spending

Interesting File on 4 documentary about the NHS procurement and how money could be saved by collective purchasing by groups of hospitals. Of course cheapest does not always mean best quality, but the documentary was pointing out huge price variation for the same item or over complex stocking of medical items that could be simplified. But it is good such efficiencies are being bought to the forefront, getting more for what is spent will mean a frozen health budget would be able to go further. There is also the question of specialist equipment like operating tables, where the sales of such items are done by reps direct to surgeons who are performing the operations - an argument can be made that bulk purchasing may not be the best option. Maybe such items can still be bought this way, if the other basics are more cheaply sourced. The programme ended on the decision to make more hospitals foundation trusts and would this lose such group purchasing.