While the NHS stands by to bear its share of funding cuts, lean purchasing will become ever more important in order to save money. Nothing will, or should be, exempt from the knife and every expenditure item, large and small, must be subject to close scrutiny.

The NHS Commercial Procurement Collaborative (NHS CPC) is an NHS owned and funded organisation that provides a wide range of procurement and commercial support to NHS Trusts. It works to save money for Trusts through lean procurement, often succeeding through its approach of collaborative purchasing that permits leverage of costs though economy of scale.

When NHS CPC turns its mind to clinical waste management contracts, or for that matter to anything else, matters of market dominance come to mind that might ultimately attract the attention of the Competition Commission.

Leaving that aside, NHS CPC are proud to publicise their success in winning the Hospital Procurement Award at the Health Business Awards for their clinical waste contract.

“Described by one of the Yorkshire and Humber region’s supplies managers as “the jewel in NHS CPC’s crown”, the innovative Clinical Waste contract is set to save the region up to £1.7 million per year for the next five years with further benchmarking activities included to ensure the contract remains competitive over its 10 year life. Healthcare Environmental Services Group (HES) secured the contract and will become the region’s new service provider from April 2011.

Good luck to all involved.

But just one small cloud on the horizon. Money is tight and savings so important. The glittering awards ceremony held on 9th December the Emirates Stadium in London was presented by BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull. That must have cost a pretty penny.

So it’s not all about savings. There is, after all, jam for tea in the cash-strapped NHS.