case study
“We thought if we started a buying consortium, it would help ShropDoc reduce some of its costs but also help the local practices,” says Masters. “We had a vision that if we got 30 local practices on board and we went out on stationery, for example, we’d just negotiate a better price for a whole group.” Caradoc was born out of this – or ShropDoc Buying Consortium, as it was called before it went national. “As we went outside the area we called it Caradoc,” says Masters, named, somewhat randomly, after an Arthurian Knight of the Round Table. Like its chivalrous namesake, Caradoc came to the rescue at
the right time: within three months, it had every practice in the three areas on board and has expanded accordingly ever since. It’s free of charge for practices and supports itself by taking a one per cent commission and charging an annual administration fee of £500 from the 100 suppliers on board, which offer competitive terms across everyday items for surgeries, ranging from medical consumables to electricity and training courses. There’s no obligation for the 1,500 member practices to use the terms and any surplus made by Caradoc is invested into projects and supporting ventures for member
practices around the country, ShropDoc included. “It’s quite simple, they can use the terms, or if they want to they can beat up their own suppliers – at least they’ve got a benchmark to say this is a price that’s competitive,” says Masters. He says he hopes it takes “some of the mundane work” out of GP practices’ busy schedules.
CATERING TO COMMISSIONING These busy schedules and their budgets are further impacted by the NHS’s shift towards commissioning (see p20 for examples), and Masters has seen a surge
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