Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice his Department offers trusts on the use of reference prices for implantable defibrillators and cardiac resynchronisation defibrillators.
Reference prices have been issued to commissioners to help them assess value for money on device expenditure and identify potential areas for future efficiency improvements.
Trusts are obliged to charge the National Health Service the cost of the implantable devices on a pass through basis, i.e. the cost invoiced by the supplier of the device. However, local commissioners will support any trust access to European Union compliant procurement frameworks that offer better value for the taxpayer.