Page 46 - BHTA 100 years

Living Centres started to sell products and there was much talk about ‘uneven playing elds’ and questions about whether or how all the costs of doing business were being handled. It seems that the food industry was also dealing with the same issue and an item in the Bulletin explained that The Federation of Wholesale Distributors were seeking the help of manufacturers to prevent Regional Health Authorities from ‘cutting into the business’.
The view was that it was probably good news that another industry was being threatened in the same way and it was understood that Ministers were now taking notice and that Ministerial advice would be issued to Health Authorities.
The BSTA views on Health Authority Trading were widely quoted at the time and there was an article in the Financial Times entitled ‘Suppliers lose patience’ and another in the Daily Telegraph with the headline ‘NHS cheap goods hit companies’.
Clearly the industry and, in particular, the surgical trade was facing constant challenges during this period. One member put it down to ‘The Ministry, blinkered by its intent to be seen to be affecting
savings’. He went on to say that he believed the
Ministry ‘often moved the goalposts, regardless of the long-term harm it would do to the industry’ and that ‘great damage was done to the morale of the surgical trade and the impetus for fresh investment withered away and almost died’.
There was also a change to the Parliamentary Advisor in 1990 as Tony Baldry was appointed as a Minister at the Department of Energy. Dr Ian Twinn MP was his successor.
Memories from...
“Julian Cobbledick
The 1990’s were dominated by
the advent of CE Marking and my company allowed me to work tirelessly to ensure the test procedures for wheelchairs and scooters suited the UK made products. That suddenly ushered in the Pan-European standard and got rid of the need for local standards- testing in each continental country....
it saved hundreds of thousands ” of pounds for exporting
manufacturers.
BHTA 100 years