Hewitt dismisses Novation hospital supply fears

Patricia Hewitt, the health secretary, has quashed fears regarding Novation and DHL handling the distribution of hospital supplies.

Novation had been accused of overcharging Amercian health services billions of dollars each year, which the company denies. Ms Hewitt said the allegations had been looked at “very carefully” by both the Department of Health and DHL.

She told Channel 4 News: “Novation would be a sub contractor to DHL and let me stress, there would be rather strict penalties in the clauses, in the contract so that if DHL doesn’t deliver on its share of the bargain then the NHS will be compensated.”

“We will only go ahead with it if we’re absolutely convinced that it’s going to be good for patients, good for staff but also good for the taxpayer,” she added.

The move to allow DHL, a German delivery company, and Novation to handle delivery in the NHS has sparked outrage from Unison, the UK’s largest health union.

Karen Jennings, head of health at Unison, said members were “bitter and angry” about the decision to hire the two companies. She stated: “The government’s decision to privatise it is driven by pure dogma and an obsession with market testing.”

Paul Harper, Unison branch secretary at NHS Logistics’ Maidstone depot, concluded: “Strike action is a last resort but we have no choice. We work hard to provide a first rate service to the NHS and take pride in being an essential part of the health team.”

NHS Logistics employs 1,400 staff, making 1,200 deliveries every day to 10,000 delivery points.

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