ROYAL Bolton Hospital took part in a project in a bid to save the NHS millions of pounds by making simple changes.

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust is one of 22 which have voluntarily teamed up with Lord Carter to improve efficiency.

He was asked by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in July last year to conduct the review and a report published yesterday found that by making better use of staff, using medicines more effectively and getting better value from the huge number of products the NHS buys, it could save billions by 2020.

One example given was that Bolton NHS Foundation Trust hospital was using the soluble version of a steroid and paying £1.50 per tablet, when it could have been paying 2p for the solid version.

By saving the soluble version only for children and patients who have trouble swallowing, it will save £40,000 a year.

Simon Worthington, deputy chief executive and director of finance, said: “Bolton Foundation Trust has been one of the 22 trusts in the country working with Lord Carter on his very important programme.

"We had not spotted that particular tablet but we have now spotted it and are making the changes."

He added: "We do need to make big savings going forward, as the whole NHS does.

"It's important we have found these opportunities.

"It's simple procedural changes, it's exactly the same for the patient and we save money."

Across the country, the changes could save the NHS up to £5 billion a year.

Lord Carter said: "The NHS has some of the best hospitals in the world both in terms of quality, innovation and operational efficiency.

"The challenge is to lift hospital efficiency to a consistently high standard in every area of every NHS hospital and, where we already perform well, innovate to improve further.

"I do not think there is one single action we can take but I do believe there are significant benefits to be gained by helping hospitals, using comparative data, to become more productive."

Mr Hunt said he wanted to see hospitals "cutting out the waste and making sure every penny counts so that the quality of care continues to improve".

"I'm determined hospitals should focus their resources on patient care by helping them ensure they aren't paying over the odds for basic items," he added.

"The NHS has huge purchasing power, as the world's single biggest buyer of healthcare products, so we should be driving for the best-value deals every time."