FOI – 2025-000251 Usage of disposable ports and disposable (HTML)

Date received – 11 August 25 | Date responded – 04 September 25

Request

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I would like to request the following information regarding NHS Scotland hospital's use of disposable ports and disposable laparoscopic instruments over the last three financial years (2023/24, and 2024/25 ytd):

1. Disposable Surgical Laparoscopic Ports:

• Total quantity purchased per year.
• Total expenditure per year.
• Top 5 suppliers used (by volume or value).
• Whether your trust uses any reusable ports (yes/no).
• If reusable ports are used: estimated percentage of surgeries where reusable ports are used versus disposable.

2. Disposable Laparoscopic Instruments:

• Total quantity of disposable laparoscopic instruments purchased per year (e.g., graspers, scissors, dissectors).
• Total expenditure on disposable laparoscopic instruments per year.
• Top 5 suppliers used (by volume or value).
• Does the trust use any reusable laparoscopic instruments? If yes, what is the estimated breakdown of disposable vs reusable instrument use (in percentage)?

3. Procurement and Sustainability

• Is your trust currently reviewing the environmental impact or cost-effectiveness of disposable vs reusable laparoscopic instruments?
• Are there any procurement policies or strategies in place to reduce reliance on single-use surgical instruments?

4. Contracts and Renewals

Please provide the following information for any current contracts covering disposable ports or disposable laparoscopic instruments:

• Name(s) of supplier(s) under contract.
• Contract start and end dates.
• Any planned renewal or re-tendering dates.
• Estimated timeline for upcoming procurement decisions related to these items (if available).
• Whether contracts are part of a national framework (e.g., NHS Supply Chain, Scottish Framework) or directly awarded.

If possible, please provide the information in Excel or CSV format. If any of the above information is not available, please advise accordingly or provide partial information where possible. I understand you are required to respond within 20 working days of receiving this request. If you require any clarification, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Response

We have now completed the search of our records and can provide you with the following information:

1. Disposable Surgical Laparoscopic Ports:

Total quantity purchased per year.

Please find attached Appendix 1 – Disposable Surgical Laparoscopic Ports & Instruments, which details the total quantity of disposable surgical laparoscopic ports purchased in the years requested.

Total expenditure per year.

Appendix 1 – Disposable Surgical Laparoscopic Ports & Instruments, details the total expenditure on disposable surgical laparoscopic ports in the years requested. Please note that all values provided exclude VAT.

Top 5 suppliers used (by volume or value).

Appendix 1 – Disposable Surgical Laparoscopic Ports & Instruments, shows the top suppliers used for disposable surgical laparoscopic ports for the years requested. Please note that where the number of suppliers listed is less than 5, this is due to there being no expenditure with any other suppliers.

Whether your trust uses any reusable ports (yes/no).

Under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Scotland Act, 2002 (FOISA) an organisation does not have to provide that information if it does not hold it. NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) does not hold any information on the usage of reusable laparoscopic ports within NSS. This is because NSS are not the end users of this product. This information may be held at individual Health Board (HB) level. Contact details are provided below.

If reusable ports are used: estimated percentage of surgeries where reusable ports are used versus disposable.

Under Section 17 of the FOISA an organisation does not have to provide that information if it does not hold it. NSS does not hold any information on the estimated percentage of surgeries where reusable ports are used versus disposable. This information may be held at individual HB level.

Contact details are provided below

2. Disposable Laparoscopic Instruments:

Total quantity of disposable laparoscopic instruments purchased per year (e.g., graspers, scissors, dissectors).

Appendix 1 – Disposable Surgical Laparoscopic Ports & Instruments, details the total quantity of disposable laparoscopic instruments purchased in the years requested.

Total expenditure on disposable laparoscopic instruments per year.

Appendix 1 – Disposable Surgical Laparoscopic Ports & Instruments, details the total expenditure of disposable laparoscopic instruments in the years requested. Please note that all values provided exclude VAT.

Top 5 suppliers used (by volume or value).

Appendix 1 – Disposable Surgical Laparoscopic Ports & Instruments, details the top suppliers of disposable laparoscopic instruments for the years requested. Please note that where the number of suppliers listed is less than 5, this is due to there being no expenditure with any other suppliers.

Does the trust use any reusable laparoscopic instruments? If yes, what is the estimated breakdown of disposable vs reusable instrument use (in percentage)?

Under Section 17 of FOISA an organisation does not have to provide that information if it does not hold it. NSS does not hold any information on its usage of reusable laparoscopic instruments, as mentioned above NSS are not the end users of these products. This information may be held at individual HB level. Contact details provided below:

• Ayrshire and Arran – foi@aapct.scot.nhs.uk
• Borders – foi.enquiries@borders.scot.nhs.uk
• Dumfries and Galloway – dg.feedback2@nhs.scot
• Fife – fife.foirequestfife@nhs.scot
• Forth Valley – fv.freedomofinformation@nhs.scot
• Grampian – gram.foi@nhs.scot
• Greater Glasgow & Clyde – foi@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
• Highland – nhsh.foirequestshighland@nhs.scot
• Lanarkshire – foi@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk
• Lothian – foi@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
• Orkney – ORK.FOIrequests@nhs.scot
• Shetland – shet.foi@nhs.scot
• Tayside – tay.informationgovernance@nhs.scot
• Western Isles – wi.foi-requests@nhs.scot
• NHS24 – foi@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk
• NHS National Waiting Times Centre – FOI@gjnh.scot.nhs.uk
• Scottish Ambulance Service – sas.foi@nhs.scot
• Healthcare improvement Scotland – his.foi@nhs.scot
• Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland – mwc.enquiries@nhs.scot
• NHS Education for Scotland – foidp@nes.scot.nhs.uk
• Public Health Scotland – PHS.FOI@phs.scot
• State Hospital Board for Scotland – tsh.info@nhs.scot

3. Procurement and Sustainability

Is your trust currently reviewing the environmental impact or cost-effectiveness of disposable vs reusable laparoscopic instruments?

Under Section 17 of FOISA, an organisation does not have to provide that information if it does not hold it. NSS does not hold any information on whether we are currently reviewing the impact and/or cost-effectiveness of disposable vs reusable laparoscopic instruments. The National Green Theatres Project are responsible for this aspect; you may wish to contact them for further information on the following contact address: comms@gjnh.scot.nhs.uk

Are there any procurement policies or strategies in place to reduce reliance on single-use surgical instruments?

Under Section 17 of FOISA, an organisation does not have to provide that information if it does not hold it. NSS does not hold any information the procurement policies or strategies in place to reduce reliance on single-use surgical instruments. The National Green Theatres Project are responsible for this aspect; you may wish to contact them for further information on the following contact address: comms@gjnh.scot.nhs.uk

Contracts and Renewals

Please provide the following information for any current contracts covering disposable ports or disposable laparoscopic instruments:

Under Section 25 of FOISA an organisation does not have to provide that information if it is already reasonably accessible. The information you have requested above is publicly available on Procurement Contract Scotland (PCS) website at the following link - View Contract - Public Contracts Scotland.

I trust you will find the information of assistance and if you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of how we have dealt with your request, you can make representations to us asking us to review the handling of your request.

If you require any further information, please contact the Associate Director Governance and Board Services (Board Secretary) within 40 working days of the date of this correspondence.

Contact

Address

If after a review you are still unhappy, you also have the right to apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, who can be contacted at Kinburn Castle, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS, or via their application form.

National Services Scotland (NSS) is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. You can view all FOI responses within our FOI Publications repository.