Outsourcing contract to save NHS £5.5m

NHS trusts in the North West of England have streamlined their document and print management services.

The North West Collaborative Procurement Hub (NWCPH) signed a five-year contract with Xerox, and predicts it will amass cost savings of around £5.5m through the reduction of waste and unnecessary print expenses and the increase in productivity levels.

As part of the contract, Xerox is providing core office functions to eight NHS trusts, such as copying, faxing, printing, scanning, storage and the retrieval of administrative documents and research papers.

The company goes into each trust and completes an audit of how best to manage and streamline that organisation's document and printing needs.

Peter Akin, chief executive of NWCPH, said that trusts do not always understand the true cost of printing, with some departments having a printer on every single desk.

Akin said because Xerox offers a managed service operation, the trusts can save time and money by doing away with unnecessary printers and managing those paper-related services.

"[Xerox] frees up potential frontline staff from messing about and trying to fix a printer so they have more time to do the job they're meant to be doing," he added.

Xerox also manages the hospital's document and print suppliers and tries to use local organisations so employment stays within the North West region.

The NWCPH — a procurement arm aiming to reduce NHS spending — has been working with Xerox for 12 months.