HSE may grant nearly €1bn in new contracts

THE Health Service Executive may have to grant new contracts worth close to €1 billion this year, it has emerged.

In what could prove an expensive year for the executive, contracts worth an estimated total of €875.5 million are likely to have to be sent to tender in 2010, including an estimated €100m for residential services and €120m on corporate requirements including Home Help Services, the two most expensive contracts likely to have to go to tender.

Details of the estimated outlay for the year were published this week on the e-tenders website as “Prior Information Notices”.

The prospective contracts cover 31 separate areas, from Clinical Dental Technician Service, worth €7m, to wound care, worth €20m.

A contract to provide seasonal and pandemic vaccines could be worth as much as €30m, according to the estimates, while a contract for office supplies and equipment is likely to be worth a similar amount.

Contracts for security services and cleaning services are likely to cost the HSE a combined total of €56m. Cleaning supplies, meanwhile, will cost an estimated €65.5m.

Consultants and agency recruitment is also likely to eat into the HSE’s budget.

Contracts for general management consultancy services could cost an estimated €6m, while agency recruitment and health services could cost €16m.

Medical equipment is likely to cost €15m, while the decontamination of medical aids and appliances is set to cost a further €20m.

The supply of medical and surgical devices will cost another €50m and equipment maintenance and servicing another €20m.

Internet and communications technology is set to cost the HSE €10m, with unlicensed medicines to cost an estimated €15m. Patient transport services will cost an estimated €40m.

A spokesperson for the HSE was not able to say whether or not the cost of the contracts that require tendering this year is greater than last year.

“Procurement is the sourcing, tendering, contracting and logistics management of goods, services and equipment for the organisation, to optimise efficiencies and achieve best value for money on the €4 billion spent annually on products and services across the organisation in the delivery of patient care,” he said.

“A strategic price management initiative effectively held the bought-in cost of goods and services at existing levels in 2009 and 2008.

“The key aim of this initiative was to protect frontline services in the difficult economic environment and this initiative will continue in 2010.”