North Derbyshire Hospice

Why did you join IHP?

We initially joined IHP because we were extending our hospice and had forthcoming expenses. We were looking for areas to reduce our costs and IHP, due to its buying power, was able to give us the biggest discounts rather than us buying direct.

What benefits has IHP generated for your organisation?

IHP has helped us achieve better discounts due to its buying power. The team are very helpful. If I have a particular problem or if I need a specific product, they will source it for me and give me the right information. IHP not only helped us save money, they put me in contact with the right companies that could supply what we needed. This in itself saved time and effort.

How has IHP helped your organisation maximise the savings available to you?

Through its buying power.

Tell us about a recent project that IHP has helped you with.

IHP helped us with a new extension where we had eight extra beds, a day centre and an out patient facility - the cost was several million. We needed ten automatic beds and a variety of furniture. IHP was able to put me in contact with the right representative and achieve a good discount for the hospice. The savings they made on the hospital's electrical beds were in the region of few thousand pounds - quite considerable.

Do you find using IHP cost effective in terms of time and effort? How?

If I need any new equipment that I know IHP can help me with and can achieve a discount on, then I speak to their team straight away. I buy lymphodema garments, catering and cleaning equipment through IHP and they always get a discount.

How will your patients benefit from the savings you make?

Our patients will benefit because we are a registered charity and it costs over several million pounds to keep us open each year - raised via charitable means. The discounts IHP get for us help to keep the hospice running on the tight budget we have got.

What would you say to other healthcare providers that are considering becoming a member of IHP?

We have benefited from IHP's services and the staff are all very friendly and helpful - I would definitely recommend them. A lot of hospices don't have a specific buyer and in that case I would recommend they use IHP as they have a team of experts in place to get the most cost effective deals for the charity - they have lots of contacts.