In return for a promised extra £8 billion a year in funding, the new Conservative government expects managers in the NHS to save money by cutting down on procurement, agency and consultancy costs.

Hospitals will no longer be permitted to enter into any management consultancy contract worth over £50,000 without special permission. The hiring of doctors and nurses from unapproved agencies will be banned; those that are hired from agencies will have their hourly wages capped. Hospitals will also be expected to buy goods and services centrally, in order to cut down on procurement costs.

Conservative health secretary Jeremy Hunt claimed that it was the NHS’s turn to “deliver its side of the bargain for patients by eliminating waste.

“It’s outrageous that taxpayers are being taken for a ride by companies charging up to £3,500 a shift for a doctor. The NHS is bigger than all of these companies, so we’ll use that bargaining power to drive down rates.”

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