§ Lord Finsbergasked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been achieved by National Health Service Supplies since its establishment in 1991 and what plans does it have to improve its service to the National Health Service.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)Since it was set up the National Health Service Supplies Authority has: streamlined the disparate services previously given by the supplies organisations in 14 regions into one national body that offers total supply chain management in England, without disruption in service to the NHS: cut operating costs by approximately £ 9 million a year through rationalisation of its warehousing operations and information systems (to date reducing the number of stores from 48 to 27, and the number of IT systems from 36 to 6): introduced competition into monopoly markets to achieve better prices for the NHS: achieved annual purchasing savings of £ 27 million in its first six months of operation: and is on target to achieve further savings of £ 57 million in 1993–94. It has contracts to provide full or partial supplies services to over 99 per cent. of NHS trusts.
NHS Supplies plans to further reduce operating costs and to give a more cost-effective service to the NHS through introduction of a national logistics system to streamline its warehousing and distribution operations; through improved supplies information services by continued rationalisation of IT systems; through introduction of national prices and a price guarantee on a wide range of key products in common use from 1 April 1994; and through using its regular customer surveys and the skills of its customer services staff at local level to identify further action in targeted response to customer needs.