MORE than £150,000 in savings have been delivered by nurses at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust (UHMBT) in the last 15 months, it has been revealed.
They have identified nursing products and equipment that are both the best quality for patients and provide the best value for money to taxpayers.
The team of nurses from across the trust, which runs Westmorland General Hospital, Kendal, the Royal Lancaster Infirmary and Furness General Hospital, Barrow, have been actively engaged in what the trust orders for its wards as part of the nursing supplies group.
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This group works alongside the trust’s procurement team to ensure that nursing products bought to deliver patient care are of the highest quality and that the same products are used across the trust wherever possible to make it easier for staff.
They have saved more than £55,000 by buying alternative non-sterile examination gloves and £33,000 by purchasing alternative intravenous dressings.
The trust is also trialling red, amber and green stickers on ward 35 at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. The stickers aim to provide nurses with a reminder that when choosing a product, it is important to use the most suitable one – both in terms of the needs of the patient and the associated cost.
For example if a nurse needs a standard intravenous giving set, the one with the green sticker is significantly less expensive and will do the job well, when compared with the very expensive red one which is for use in a limited number of specific cases.
Sue Smith, Executive Chief Nurse, UHMBT, said: “Lord Carter recently reported that the NHS in England could save £5bn a year through improved staff organisation and a better approach to purchasing.
“This isn’t about us not stocking certain products. It’s about looking at what we do stock and seeing whether there are other products available on the market that offer the same quality and benefits but at a more cost effective price.
“By taking a trust-wide approach to ordering and procuring, the nursing supplies group not only ensures the clinical effectiveness of the medical products we purchase so our products are high quality and safe for our patients but it also saves the trust money that can then be reinvested into patient care.
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