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Trusts are wasting millions by failing to bulk buy equipment, warn MPs

BMJ 2011; 343 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d6945 (Published 25 October 2011) Cite this as: BMJ 2011;343:d6945
  1. Adrian O’Dowd
  1. 1London

NHS trusts are losing millions of pounds because they are failing to buy expensive high tech equipment for hospitals in bulk, claim MPs.

They found that the way that equipment such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scanners and linear accelerator (linac) machines are bought and used is not providing value for money for the taxpayer.

The report, published on 25 October by the parliamentary public accounts select committee, finds that in the past three years NHS trusts in England spent around £50m (€57m; $80m) a year on buying MRI and CT scanners and linear accelerators and that the current value of these machines in the NHS is around £1bn.

MPs on the committee said that since 2007 the Department of Health has devolved responsibility for procuring and …

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