The Heart of England NHS Foundation has recently adopted Peto which is an information portal that provides NHS staff with access to rich information on both suppliers and products for all spend areas within the NHS.

So why should NHS procurement be any different? The answer is it doesn’t have to be. Not anymore.

Why use Peto?

• to understand the market and to source low value / non-contract spend.
• enable the trust to better determine the ‘best value’, quickly and more consistently.

Who is Peto?

• they are a start-up providing a catalogue and price comparison web-site for suppliers and buyers of medical equipment and health-related products and services.
• developers of ways to do easier business.
• aid NHS buyers annd suppliers to meet their value and growth targets, year on year.

Why has Peto caused such a stir where spend matters are concerned?

1) The first point to note is that the lack of transparency in the health supply markets is a major problem.  Studies by the National Audit Office amongst others have shown huge price disparities between prices charged to different hospitals for instance for the same item  – up to 100% differences.  And even if prices have been arrived at through a competitive process, that often ends up as a long-term framework type agreement, where the price may not reflect market changes, or competitive issues, through the life of the contract.

2) So the Peto ability – once it reaches critical mass – to allow users to compare prices simply across markets, could change the whole balance of power in favour of the buyer, while giving scope for new suppliers to enter the market more easily than before.

3) If there is commitment, greater volume can result in a better deal, and there is an operational cost saving in terms of not having to run multiple procurement exercises.

What does Peto aim to achieve for the future of NHS spend?

•  to encourage bottom-up collaboration, people working together because they now have a real requirement.
• allowing buyers to aggregate volume for spot buys or for longer term deals
• opens up avenues for new suppliers and encourages buyers to compare prices
• fewer long-term contracts could be an advantage in some markets

Camlab are registered as a supplier with Peto and will have over 22,000 consumable products , reagents and equipment available to purchase within the next fortnight so watch this space!