The view from
Leasing: the View from the NHS
Issue No. 3
Winter, 2002
LEASING IS AN EXCELLENT METHOD OF FINANCING essential
medical equipment. No, that’s not just the opinion of the leasing
companies - who, after all, would say that, wouldn’t they? In
fact, it happens to be the opinion of no less an authority than
Faye Robinson, the woman who works on your behalf to get the
best deal from the leasing companies.
Faye’s attitude to private sector companies is quite simply that
“companies are there to make a profit. But profit is healthy.”
Like many others in the NHS, she is seeking to get the best from
the private sector for the benefit of the public sector she has
served for over 14 years. She acknowledges the gap between
the two sectors but is seeking to bridge it. Each side can benefit
eachother, so it makes sense - for the procurement staff, the
financial staff and for the leasing companies - to work together.
It’s, common sense, really, not revolutionary at all, especially
given the government’s stance on such matters.
The objective of the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, which
was established in 2000, is to modernise procurement and to
be“ a centre of expertise”. As Purchasing
Executive, Faye’s role is to “educate” NHS
purchasers - that’s her word - about
alternative methods of funding. Refer to
PASA about that tender on your desk and
you will be asked to take a different view
to the one you might expect. Instead, you
will be encouraged, for example, not to
look for the cheapest finance solution, but
the one offering “total value”. There are
pitfalls awaiting those who do not study
the terms of the contract, and it is on
these that PASA will focus on your behalf. Some companies are
more commercial than others - again, PASA can advise.
How best, then, to avoid the more unsavoury aspects of leasing
and, to put it simply, get the best out of them? Any company
that does not want to use standard terms should be more closely
scrutinised - and so should its documentation. “Go for the
bottom line on eq