NHS needs it's own Amazon.

[Bollindger]

I often wondered why this has never been done.
If medical supplies were brought and stored and dispatched on an Amazon style system, that any health care facilities could access , the NHS could save Millions, even down to light bulbs and cheap paracetamol, after all if Tesco can do Paracetamol for 50p so could the NHS. Also Amazon can deliver overnight, so that would mean Hospitals would have to carry less stock.

Tell me you know nothing about NHS procurement without telling me you know nothing about NHS procurement.

That would be too sensible so it will never happen

This is exactly what Procurement does

How is that sensible? Spending billions on stock that will likely expire before it’s used, warehousing costs, delivery drivers. Where will the warehouses be based? Will they have to have a stock of a certain bulb because 3 hospitals near Bradford use it but no one else? Not just medicine expires, anything sterilised has an expiration date too.

The NHS already have centralised systems for ordering everyday stuff, NHS supply chain. Trusts then rely on a network of suppliers for specialist items that are often loaned and can be returned if not used. Saving the NHS money. Couriers already do next day/overnight delivery if required. The current system isn’t by any means perfect but the system the OP is suggesting is ridiculous and would lead to even more wastage.

You haven't heard of NHS Supply Chain I take it?

How do you imagine the nhs orders supplies? How much do you think the nhs pays for paracetamol?
drug costs to the nhs are very well negotiated and with the monopoly are incredibly low. So low that it can create supply problems as manufacturers can’t afford to make them!

The paracetamol for instance, even if it was given to the NHS for free, would still cost a lot.
First it has to be prescribed by a doctor, then if one nurse dispenses it she may or may not call over a colleague to check what she is dishing out, then she takes two paracetamol to the patient “here’s your painkillers Mr Harris. Ooops didn’t realise you were dozing…yes I’ll get you some fresh water” and off she goes, but her time and the doctors time cost!

Worse still if you go to the go to get a bottle of calpol. You phone the receptionist, make your appointment in the warm, well lit, clean surgery. See the doctor, get a prescription to take to the pharmacy. The pharmacy, staffed with a pharmacist, a dispensing technician and a few counter staff.
Warm, well lit, 200ml of paracetamol suspension is dispensed. Patients mother then says “it’s not orange is it? He doesn’t like the orange one” and that 99p bottle of calpol has cost the NHS a minimum of £20
No amount of Amazon style deliveries can save those scenarios money.

oh, by the way, hospitals and pharmacies usually get two deliveries a day,order in the morning for delivery that afternoon. Order in the afternoon for delivery the next morning. It’s not getting things that’s the issue.

How much do you think the nhs pays for paracetamol?

what do they pay?

The last operation I had I was asked if I had paracetamol at home or happy to buy it as it was much cheaper vs then prescribing me some.

How have none of the hundreds of procurement professionals within the NHS never thought of this?

...NHS SupplyChain tho?

See the explanation above. It's not the cost of the paracetamol that's the issue, it's the cost of time, resource and all the peripherals like admin to order the stock, delivery, someone to receive it, check and record the delivery, store it, management of storage, dr to prescribe it, pharmacy to dispense, admin to process all the paper work.

All that time costs and then there's cost of running the facilities.
Or you can pop to Tesco and grab a pack for less than 50p

@ChampagneCharlieIsMyName - but your scenarios are silly because you used over the counter medicine. Now replace that with Morphine and you want that level of checks in place. Also not sure why the nurse doing her job in nursing a patient is included in drug suspension costs…

@RagingWoke but Tesco will still have to employ buyers to negotiate with suppliers, raise orders & have logistics people to get stock from supplier to shelves?

I’ve seen loads of randomly quoted costs and nobody can ever itemise or justify. So I’m genuinely interested to know what OP thinks the cost is and what they are including in the cost?

Worse still if you go to the go to get a bottle of calpol. You phone the receptionist, make your appointment in the warm, well lit, clean surgery

But even if you didn't take the Calpol the "costs" of the appointment would still occur?

They have a better system than Amazon.
Procurement has pre-negotiated schedules of all the goods and services the NHS needs where they have significant quantity discounts based on the average annual usage across the entire NHS.
The negotiated contracts include twice daily drop shipments of a steady supply of consumable goods- everything from light bulbs to bandages to IV bags of glucose to medications- all pre calculated based on the hospitals actual history of usage. For services, the schedules allow for usually 12 month orders to be completed amongst schedule holders for best price and negotiated where services are carried out per hospital requirements to whatever schedule they need- ie cleaning, laundry, medical waste disposal, etc
In addition, any variance from this baseline level of needs can be ordered online and added to the next days drop shipment or urgently delivered in hours…as in case of certain surgical kits or added to a service order as a plus up modification.

The schedules are with multiple suppliers all guaranteed a minimum only so that there is never an out of stock or lack of labour capacity issue…if one supplier is out of stock or a service provider booked solid, there is always another schedule holder and the hospital can just go to them with no contractual penalty (not tied down to a single supplier) AND keep the NHS wide discounted price. So the worst that can happen (and does) is a stock shortage or delay and even then only when it’s due to global stock shortages.

Is the actual cost price of paracetamol lower for the NHS vs Tesco?

*competed not completed sorry for typo.

Supermarkets will sell some items at a loss because they get people through the door and then they buy other things.
I need some paracetamol, whilst I'm here.... £20 spent!

I don’t know what tesco pay for their paracetamol and whether it’s a loss leader. Cost price to nhs is below retail price at tesco

So you know some drugs cost hundreds/thousands of pounds are provided to the patient at the same cost as paracetamol on the NHS don't you? If folks paid the real cost for those...

I know about loss leaders as I used to be a buyer, just generally curious as to what the difference in cost price is.

Well, the price Tesco pays is not publicly available information so there is no way for we Joe Publics to know. You could do a FOIA to get a copy of latest price list of what the NHS pays, but without access to what Tesco’s pays it’s supplier, you’ve got nothing to compare it to.

I will say that part of negotiating prices by Procurement includes requirement for getting “most favoured customer prices” and prospective suppliers have to submit proof they are charging no more than what they charge other major customer. As in confidential copies of invoices or contract price lists- and I think Tesco would count as one such major customer. Because they are Government they can request such non public information because Tesco’s (or other supplier’s) privacy in regards to the prices they pay for things from that supplier is respected/kept confidential.