Health trust online auctions to save £4.5m

More than 100 NHS trusts are using online auctions they claim will save £4.5m of tax payers' money on computer hardware costs.

A two-hour online auction held by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) last week saw 11 IT suppliers battle for the business of 137 NHS Trusts throughout the UK.

OGC predicts future auctions will cut the bill for equipment, which includes 21,000 PCs and 4,500 laptops, from £16m to £11.5m.

In a statement, John Oughton, CEO of the OGC, said: "This a great example of how the public sector can work together to achieve savings for the taxpayer that can be ploughed back into frontline services. OGC promotes the use of e-auctions in the public sector and we can provide guidance on how they can be used to help the public sector meet their efficiency targets."

The trusts, which were grouped into six regions, account for around a third of PCs and laptops required in the NHS over the next 18 months.