A HOSPITAL department is to save £40,000 by changing the way they order and store stock.
The team met in February to work on making savings, looking at every area of their work before making changes.
They identified stock control as a time-consuming area with high budget costs and decided to make improvements, saving extra cash for the trust which manages Worcestershire Royal Hospital in Worcester.
Marek Waliszewski, unit manager based at the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, did some research and got in touch with companies that could supply endoscopy stock on a ‘just in time’ basis.
Following a formal procurement exercise, new suppliers were selected and have been in place from November. The team also made savings by changing brand for cleaning equipment.
Mr Waliszewski said: “For us, the project was about saving money without compromising service. Sorting out our stock control was an ideal solution.
“Also the small savings, like on detergent, can make a big difference when you realise that the departments across the county are going through 20,000 wash cycles every year. Changing the cleaning products alone has saved us £11,000.”
Stewart Messer, chief operating officer for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said “The NHS is being pushed all the time to make savings and improve quality of care.
“The people in the best position to identify improvement are our frontline staff, so we’re running a suggestion scheme and asking every team to look at ways
they could improve or save.”