SOME hospitals are still paying double the price for medical equipment compared with others, the spending watchdog has warned.

Trusts pay a “wide range of prices for the same product, with some trusts paying twice as much for the same item,” according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

For example, a portable touchscreen bladder scanner cost £6,591 for some hospitals in 2022-23 but £12,760 for others.

The NAO said that the NHS in England is “not making the most of its spending power to save money.”

The health service in England spends around £8 billion every year buying items such as paper, gloves, prosthetic hips and other medical equipment.

But more than a third of this money is being spent by NHS organisations independently and not through the central procurement body the NHS Supply Chain, which can source supplies cheaper.

While it is not mandatory to use the system for procurement, a new NAO report highlighted that the NHS spends around £3.4bn outside it each year.

An NHS spokesperson said the service is determined to use collective purchasing powers to provide the best value for money for the taxpayer.